Never Ever
by maboroshi-hime
Summary: What if Naruto had sided with the Sand Village during the Konoha invasion?
1. Leaf to Sand

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 01 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 01: Leaf to Sand**

It was a silent night in the forests of Konoha. The village of Konoha was in complete and utter chaos, but the forests were peaceful enough.

The five-year old boy forever shunned and bastardized as the 'Kyuubi' for reasons he could not control had vanished.

That night, the Sandaime had been conducting his nightly viewing of the village via crystal globe, an action otherwise known as spying, when he had caught sight of Uzumaki Naruto standing in front of the Ichiraku Ramen stand. He had then decided to follow him around a bit, just to make sure he got home safe, when suddenly, the boy turned and glared at him through the invisible one-way surveillance camera.

Needless to say, Sandaime was puzzled as to how this was possible, but what happened next was even more curious. The boy disappeared. He wandered off the screen of the 'camera' and then he was gone.

It was as if he vanished into thin air.

The Third did not waste any time in calling an emergency meeting for all Jounin of the village, which ended in disaster. The more intolerant and ignorant shinobi who had lost family during the years of Kyuubi had called for a manhunt and had wanted to send Hunter Nin to exterminate the 'demon child' once and for all. And since the number of Nin who hadn't lost anyone to the Kyuubi was incomparable, Sandaime was out-voted in almost every way.

No need to remind them about the Fourth's last request to hail the child as a hero, no. They would never listen.

In the end, he pressed for ANBU to retrieve him rather than send Hunter Nin stating that Naruto was not an official shinobi and could not be hunted as one.

---

Meanwhile, in the 'tranquil' forests surrounding Konoha, a blur could be seen making its way towards the northern border of the Fire Country with incredible speed. This indistinct shape was in fact, the missing child Uzumaki Naruto. But though the body belonged to him, the current occupant was anyone but.

'Who are you? What do you want?'

This brat was impossibly ANNOYIING, him and his damn childish voice with its damn childish innocence.

In the future, the Kyuubi would learn to endear that damn childish voice with its damn childish innocence but at the moment, he was merely annoyed.

Is it not _ENOUGH_ that he managed to escape that hellhole in a way that'll leave the village talking for weeks? Not mentioning how hard it was to crack the seal just right so that he could take over the controls of this body and not mentioning how hard it was to run on two feet. Human- how ridiculous it was to stand erect. Always wobbly, not enough speed, not enough support-

'Who are you?'

'Shut yer trap you stupid brat.' he snarled. 'I'm just yer residential demon sealed in yer body by your fool of a Hokage.'

'There's a demon in my body?'

Yup- he was the sharpest katana in the closet all right. He resisted the urge to give the boy a few knocks on the head, temporarily forgetting that it was quite impossible seeing as Naruto's mind was trapped within his current body, and in doing so, he would only be hurting himself.

'I'm a Kyuubi.'

'What's a Kyuubi?'

'What's a Kyuubi! Ye don't even know what a Kyuubi is? Damn. I knew I should have wreaked more havoc on the Leaf village.'

'Huh? How do you wreak havoc? What does wreak mean? What's havoc?'

Dear lord. Listening to this kid was going to make him stupid.

All of a sudden, he felt his legs weakening and control over Naruto's body wearing away. 'Looks like my hold is over,' the Kyuubi thought to himself.

'Listen kid,' he thought quickly, 'Go north. Whatever ye do, get out of the Fire Country. The nearest ninja village near here is the Hidden Sand Village. Go there.'

'Why? Why did we have to leave Konoha in the first place?'

'Ye want to repeat an incident like today?'

Naruto winced. It wasn't his fault, really. He just asked a boy if he wanted to play with him, and to his joy, the boy said yes. Then his mother happened to see the two of them and she immediately came over and dragged him away without a second glace. When the other boy had protested, his mother slapped him.

Naruto would have felt better if the mother had slapped him instead that boy.

---

'No...' he thought slowly, 'I don't want to do that again. But that doesn't mean I want to leave Konoha.'

'To bad, gawky' The Kyuubi said, 'Once ye run away, ye can't go back. Yer Hokage probably already noticed that you're missing and probably already sent people to kill ye.'

'Kill?'

'Yea,' the Kyuubi said, thinking quickly, suddenly thankful for Naruto's moderate capacity of knowledge. 'Haven't ye heard of Hunter Nin? They wear weird masks and kill people who run away. So if ye want to live, go to the Hidden Sand.' The older demon landed as carefully as he could on the forest floor with the limited control he had. 'I'm done with ye.'

Naruto felt a sudden rush as he was once again united with his physical body, but before he could even think of running, he fell to the ground

His feet ached, his legs burned, and his hands were covered in multiple scars and bruises. Apparently, the Kyuubi had tried to run on four 'legs' instead of two. His heart was racing and even though he didn't do any of the running up until now, he felt the pain of a five-year old that just ran a hundred miles. He coughed and retched, all of them coming out dry, and panted heavily. He didn't want to move. He just wanted to lie down and...

'Hey kid, get up. I did mention Hunter Nin didn't I?'

'I know.' Naruto huffed, 'Just... give me a second.'

'Ye don't HAVE a second. I didn't exactly do an ideal job of covering our tracks. So get up and get MOVING. We're almost there.'

'Alright,' Naruto thought, struggling to his feet, 'I'm going.' he said as he limped his way through the forest. "No no no! Not THAT way! Go to the right- the RIGHT. Don't ye know yer right from yer left? No- yer OTHER right. Yes, the other right. Don't ask me what I'm talking about- you stupid, stupid child."

Not once did he think to ask the Kyuubi why he was so desperate to get to the Sand Village and only the Sand. Not once.

---

Sandaime looked out at the moon through the solitary window of the office.

The ANBU squad had failed. They managed to track the boy's trail all the way to the borders but fell short of capturing him. He just moved along way too fast

'Yondaime..." he thought sadly, 'I'm sorry.'

---

Hatake Kakashi sighed as members of his squad headed home. They had been so close to bringing him back. They had seen the boy. They saw Uzumaki Naruto running on an open plain leading toward the Wind Country. Naruto had looked back and caught sight of them in full ANBU gear and masks.

Right at that moment, he had seen such immense terror in the boy's eyes that he felt a pang of regret, a feeling he hasn't felt in years. That look didn't belong on the face of a child. It was not the look of one who had been scared by a ghost story or the expression of one who was startled by something. The terror was raw and that face still haunted his mind. But then Naruto ran with new determination. He kept running, even after he passed the border.

He was just that scared.

Kakashi shook the image out of his mind, willing for it to disappear, knowing that by doing so, the image would forevermore be engraved in his memories.

"Oy, Itachi," he called over his shoulder, "Go home. It's late."

It had been his first mission as an ANBU and the prodigy of the Uchiha clan, Itachi, had failed.

"It's daybreak." Itachi replied. "I'll be fine."

Kakashi said nothing, but threw a shuriken in Itachi's direction. The other effortlessly tilted his head and let it embed itself it a wall behind him.

"If you were normal right now," Kakashi said, "You would have caught that and threw it back at me." He turned to leave. "Go home. Get some rest."

Itachi remained where he was for a while but eventually got up and left for the Uchiha part of town. Sasuke probably wanted to play with him. He did get grounded after their mother caught him playing with the Kyuubi brat. He remembered how their mother dragged him back from school with a handprint in his right cheek and how she told him very seriously to never associate with 'that boy' again.

He walked through the doors of the Uchiha main house and was immediately greeted with a loud and happy: "Nii-san!"

So predictable after all, Sasuke was.

---

Naruto ran. He ran, one foot after another into the Wind Country until his knees could not hold him anymore and crumbled under him. For a moment, he just sat there, the wind swirling the sand everywhere around him. Suddenly, a sob bubbled up from his chest and popped. Then another and another, each one rising faster than the last, until he just buried his face in the sand and cried. He cried because he had been afraid. There really were people in masks. The Kyuubi had been right. When those people in masks came, he had to keep running while suppressing his tears.

Imagine if you will, a five-year-old child who has to train himself not to cry.

After hearing the boy sob for a few minutes, the Kyuubi finally asked, "Oy, when are ye going to stop bawling, kid?' Sadly, the question only served to make the boy cry harder. So the Kyuubi tried another tactic.

'Could you start moving? Please.' he said, vowing that one day, the boy would pay for making him say that cursed word.

It worked somewhat. Naruto struggled to his feet, wiping his tears and hiccupping as he walked.

He had been scared.

---

Naruto stumbled around in the desert for an infinitely long time. His speed had slowed down considerably since his chakra supply was exhausted and someone as young as him couldn't exactly cover a whole lot of distance in a short amount of time without feeling the aftereffects.

He walked until he lost track of time. He was very hungry and his throat was parched. He, or rather, the Kyuubi, didn't even think to pack anything, which was incredibly stupid but the Kyuubi had insisted that if he took anything, it would impair and slow him down.

'Am I going to...die here?' he thought sadly to himself. The Kyuubi had been silent for a long time. Maybe he was dead or something. 'I hope not. I want to live; I don't want to die now...' He fell to his knees, the sand burning his skin. 'I _don't_ want to die right now. I want to live'

Strength and energy seeped out of his body like a river and he toppled forward into the sand. 'There are so many things I haven't done yet that I really want to do. I want to make a friend. I want to find a family. Please God, I don't want to die yet. I want to live...'

---

The Kyuubi growled and paced around in the damn cage like the wild animal he was. The seal had managed to close itself up again and he lost mental contact with the boy.

'DAMN SEAL.' he roared angrily, fighting violently and uselessly against the cage door. 'YE WANTED YER SON TO BE SAFE AND YET THIS IS WHAT'LL KILL HIM. THIS SEAL.'

The boy's temperature was rising rapidly in the heat of the desert sun, and wouldn't survive for anymore than an hour.

'DAMN YOU YONDAIME! DAMN YOU!'

---

Baki had been doing his daily afternoon scouting of the Sand Country when he had seen a figure lying in the sand. Assuming it was the either the dead body of an intruder or bait to draw out a sand shinobi like himself, he approached it with caution. To his surprise, it was the body of a boy.

He felt around for a pulse on the boy's neck and was even more surprised to find out that he was alive. Quickly hoisting the boy on his shoulders, he headed back towards the Sand Village.

---

It was warm where he was right now. It wasn't hot like the desert, but pleasantly warm and cool at the same time.

Naruto opened his eyes slowly. 'Where am I?' It looked like a hospital room and yet it looked so... homey. The hospitals in Konoha were white, clean and very... hospital-like. Wherever he was now, it looked like someone's bedroom with medical appliances. The bedspread and blanket were red and had flowers on it. The walls were painted a warm brown to resemble wood and there was barely a speck of white anywhere.

"Are you awake?"

He jumped and looked at the speaker. She was around her 20s and had golden hair and warm brown eyes. He looked at her, expecting her to scowl at him or glare, but she only smiled.

"What's your name?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." She didn't look like she hated him. Where in the world was he right now?

---

"Why did you bring the boy back here if you did not know who he was? He could have been a spy; then it'd all be on your head, Baki."

Baki listened patiently as the Kazekage berated him on his carelessness. "But fortunately for you, that is not the case. I don't suppose you have heard the news yet."

"News, Kazekage-sama?"

"Our sources in Konoha have found out that the vessel of the Kyuubi recently ran away."

"The Kyuubi boy ran away- you don't think that _this_ boy is the Kyuubi?" Baki asked.

Kazekage glared at him. "I know that the Kyuubi is in that boy. Did you not see his whisker marks? Those with demonic presence within them will have a telltale sign like that. Like Gaara and his eyes."

"What will we do?" Baki asked.

"What will we do?" Kazekage repeated. "We will keep the boy, of course. Why did you think shinobi like Gaara were created? Now the Hidden Sand village has two vessels and once the two of them receive proper training, the Sand Village will be invincible."

'He talks about his own son like a tool.'

At that moment, Myoubi Ayumi, one the Sand's great interrogators, came out of the room and closed the door.

"Well?"

"He says his name is Uzumaki Naruto. He's the one, Kazekage-sama." she said, bowing.

Kazekage smiled. Or rather, his eyes narrowed happily. "What did I tell you, Baki?" he said as he stepped toward Naruto's room. "The Sand will have two."


	2. Growing Up

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 02 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 02: Growing Up**

Kazekage rubbed his chin thoughtfully as Naruto told his story the best he could without the use of eloquent words. Apparently, it was Kyuubi who initiated the 'running away' business and not the boy himself. But the Sand Village would benefit greatly in the future if they had an S-Class demon living within its walls. And what the boy didn't know wouldn't hurt him either.

"Naruto-kun, you've been a very bad child." he said it that slow, deceptively kind fatherly way he had.

"Huh?"

"You ran away from your village." Kazekage continued. "Your Hokage has to eliminate people who run away, does he not?"

Naruto began to make an attempt at defending Sandaime. The old man had been kind to him all these years and he was the only person who did not look at him with those eyes. But then he remembered those Hunter Nin and lost quite a bit of steam.

What reason could he possibly use to excuse Sandaime for sending them after him?

Of course, all of what Kazekage just told Naruto was a complete fabrication. There were never any Hunter Nin as the Kyuubi previously predicted, only ANBU. Blame it on luck, but Kazekage was merely fortunate that that his story corresponded with what the Kyuubi told Naruto. Then again, he was the master of manipulating the truth and guessing and playing off what was on people's minds, and Naruto's rather simple one wasn't much of a challenge at all.

"I'll tell you what," he said, as if he had just came up with a masterful plan. "You can stay here in the village and become one of our shinobi. How does that sound to you?"

"For how long?" Naruto asked.

"How long?" Kazekage repeated, smiling beneath his mask of cloth, "Why, for as long as you wish, Naruto-kun."

---

Naruto followed the Kazekage down the street. The Hidden Sand Village was so weird and so different from Konoha. The streets were deserted and it was late morning. In Konoha, the streets were always filled no matter what time of the day it was. Had Naruto any observatory skills, he would have noted that the streets were empty for a reason. The place had been cleared in a hurry for some reason.

Suddenly, he saw a person standing in the middle of the street. When he got closer, he realized that it was a boy, about the same age as him. He had red hair and aqua eyes with some kind of black makeup around them. Kazekage barely gave the boy a second look, never ceasing his pace. And was it just his imagination, or did he walk a little faster when around that child?

'I wonder who he is.' Naruto thought as he glanced back at the boy. 'He has the same eyes as I do...'

---

"This will be your room."

It was a BIG room. Well, maybe it wasn't THAT big, but compared to his tiny little bedroom in Konoha, it was big enough. For the moment, it was empty save a bed and blanket, but would soon be filled with many things detailing Naruto's growth over the years.

"Thank you." Naruto said, still in awe that someone would be so kind to him. "Thank you very much."

Kazekage nodded and left the room without another word.

As soon as he did, Naruto leapt into the room and began turning around in circles and circles with childlike joy. The pain in his feet and hands were gone. A good night sleep always did the trick and it didn't fail him now. The pain of running away and being chased seemed to disappear from his mind. All he could think about right now was that he was far away from all those cold eyes and that he was safe from being killed for running away.

Suddenly, he realized that two pairs of them were watching him from the doorway. Two children, one girl and one boy, both with golden hair and both who looked slightly older than he did.

"Hi!" He said happily. To his joy, they didn't shrink back.

The girl walked in with confidence that Naruto could never muster and said, "I'm Temari and this is Kankurou." She jerked her head back at the boy who was a step behind her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He said happily. "Do you live here?"

"Yeah. I live in the room three doors down and Kankurou lives two doors down."

"Who lives in the room next to me then?" Naruto asked.

The two exchanged a 'look'.

"His name is Gaara. He's our little brother. Steer clear of him no matter what you do." Kankurou warned. "He's..." he trailed off.

Though he didn't understand why, the way Kankurou said it was like Gaara was some kind of disease.

"Okay." he agreed. "So anyway, how old are you guys?"

---

The three of them got along great in Naruto's first afternoon in the Sand Village. That is, other than Kankurou's obvious doll fetish- he insisted weren't dolls; they were _marionettes_. And other than the fact that Naruto was given his first lesson in etiquette by Temari. It all started when Naruto said her name.

"Don't you usually add a suffix to the end of names, Naruto-kun?" she asked.

"Why do people do that?" he asked.

"To show respect! To show closeness! No one ever taught you?"

"No..." Naruto started and was immediately cut off by the start of Temari's lecture.

"To someone you show extreme respect to, add '-sama'. Add '-kun' and '-san' to the end of names people you're close to but still respect. Add 'chan' only to people you are really close to. '-Dono' and '-han' aren't used as much any more. Listen to the way people talk and pick up stuff from it. Got it?"

"What's the difference between '-kun' and '-san'? Why don't we just use one of them?"

"Did you hear a word I just said!"

"Yeah I did, but you went too fast!"

"What do you mean I went too fast? You're just too slow!"

Oh yes. They got along just great.

---

The odd thing about Kazekage's household was that everyone ate meals separately unless you happened to feel hungry at the same time as someone else.

That was all good and fine for Naruto. He usually ate alone anyway. But when he went down to eat that night, he saw that boy from this morning eating his dinner. The one with red hair and black lines around his eyes.

"Hey! I didn't know you lived here." Naruto said to him. "What's your name?"

The boy seemed surprised. "Gaara."

'He's Gaara? He doesn't look so dangerous. Hmm...'

Suddenly, he remembered an incident that happened a little less than half a year ago. A teacher was telling the class that one should not judge people by what other people tell them, and only judge them by what you know. But when one of the kids pointed at Naruto and asked about him, the teacher had said: "That's different." without even looking at him.

"Is there anything to eat around here? I'm kinda hungry." Naruto said, hoping to start a conversation.

Gaara stared at him for a second before finally saying, "I think Yashamaru can make something."

"Who?"

"Yashamaru. My guardian." He slid off the chair. "I'll go find him for you."

"I'll go with you." said Naruto.

---

Yashamaru looked over his shoulders as he made Naruto his dinner. The two boys were sitting at the table and chatting. Well, Naruto was doing all the actual chatting. Gaara, the not-so-experienced conversationalist, was just nodding here and there during every one of Naruto's pauses.

Part of him felt happy that Gaara finally found someone who wasn't scared of him. Yet part of him still felt hatred towards him for killing his sister. But when he sees the hesitant smile creeping on Gaara's face, truthfully, the happiness does outweigh the hatred.

---

Before he knew it, three months passed. Three happy months where he spent time with the three Sand siblings. Temari was glad to have someone other than Kankurou to talk to. Kankurou was glad to have someone other than Temari to talk to and Gaara was glad just to be with someone who wasn't scared of him.

He was quite surprised to find out that all of them were related and that they were the children of Kazekage. And yet through all three months, he never figured out why Gaara was so feared be everyone. Then again, he wasn't the brightest bulb in the closet. And yet again, no one figured out that Naruto had a demon within him as well because he was a happy child, and it was the common belief among ignorant that 'demon children' were usually dark and mirthless.

But after those three months, Kazekage decided that it was time for Naruto to begin his training in becoming a shinobi. And since he wasn't a 'normal child' like Temari and Kankurou, and he didn't have an absolute defense like Gaara, he was to be tutored privately instead of going to school.

And his tutor was a man named Baki.

---

Naruto looked around him. They were in the middle of a desert, it was noon, and the sun was high and beating down on them. Just ducky.

Baki handed him a small canteen of water. "Run north until you find a flag. Then run back."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to teach history and stuff like that before we ever get to field work?"

"You want to know about history, go read a book. The worst thing next to a dead shinobi is a fat one." Baki said bluntly. "Once you train your body enough and once you're ready to learn about the chakra system, I'll teach you what you need to know. Otherwise, the stuff you learn in school is a load of crap."

Naruto mumbled under his breath, but started running north anyhow while Baki sat down on the sand to meditate. 'Why did I have to be assigned as a damn baby-sitter?' He thought. 'I hate brats.'

But then again, he hasn't seen Naruto's full potential.

---

'Why' Naruto huffed 'the heck' another puff 'am I doing this?'

He ran for about five minutes now and he was already dead tired. Baki- sensei said run north, but what if he got off track? What if he accidentally turned somewhere? What if there was no flag and Baki just wanted to get rid of him?

Naruto shook the bottle. Empty. He chucked it toward a nearby dune, mumbling harmless childish curses under his breath.

Baki sighed. Maybe this type of endurance training was too hard. The brat couldn't even make halfway. But still, he needed to train both his body to adapt to the Sand way of life, and it wasn't going to be easy.

---

After an entire week, still, all he did was run. Sure, it was getting a whole lot easier to navigate through the desert and it was taking him less time to do it, and Baki didn't have to rescue him again, but STILL. What was the point?

Then again, Naruto wasn't the brightest of them all.

---

"So today, after I finished running that entire course," Naruto said excitedly, "Baki-sensei said we'd start something new tomorrow! Isn't that great?"

"Amazing, Naruto-kun." Temari said through a mouthful of sushi. "That entire running course is a training ground for Genin. If you're already able to run that, then you've probably mastered the endurance of a Genin."

"It's not that cool. I don't get why HE gets a private sensei and WE'RE all stuck in school." Kankurou mumbled as he shoved a spoonful of... whatever it was he was eating into his mouth. It had a particularly distasteful resemblance to vomit.

"Well, you're just too busy playing with all your dolls to concentrate on training." Temari smirked.

"For the absolute LAST time. They're MARIONETTES. NOT dolls- get it right."

"Yea sure." Temari replied, suddenly having a coughing fit in which the words 'doll' could be heard indistinctly between each cough.

Naruto watched the two of them as they argued continuously. The two of them seemed to get along really well. But what about Gaara? Why does everyone seem to hate him?

All of a sudden, the teapot started singing, signaling that the hot water was done boiling. As he gleefully poured the water into the small instant container, Temari said to him:

"One day, I'm going to force you down and make you eat Udon. Now THAT'S that good stuff."

"Ramen's better. Udon's just fat noodles," Naruto said, sticking his tongue out at her, a gesture of which she returned. "Ne, Temari." Naruto asked, suddenly thoughtful, "Why is everyone so afraid of Gaara?"

The two of them froze at the mere mention of his name.

"Don't tell anyone that we were the ones that told you this," Kankurou whispered, leaning in. "But Gaara has the spirit of a Tanuki demon forced into his body when our mother was pregnant."

"Really?" Naruto asked, and before he could even think about what could happen, he blurted out. "Well, I have a demon sealed in me too."

There was silence.

"Don't joke, Naruto-kun." Temari said, trying to laugh it off.

"It's not a joke." Naruto insisted, "It's true. I have a Kyuubi inside me. That's how I ran away from the Leaf village. Well, I wasn't the one doing the running but..."

'There was no way Naruto can be a demon. He's... happy. He's nice. There's just no way. But he doesn't seem to be lying.'

"Does it make a difference?" Naruto finally asked. "Will you guys treat me any different now that you know that I have a Kyuubi inside me?"

The two of them actually thought about that. They worked their eight and nine year old brains to come up with an honest answer. And they found that truthfully, they wouldn't really treat him any different. Sure, they'd be wary sometimes, but in general, he was still the same brat that they knew and loved.

"See?" Naruto asked, secretly relieved. Then, his voice grew softer and his voice took on a tone of sadness. "The way Gaara is treated is the way I was treated when I was still in the Leaf Village."

There was another silence. Then, unexpectedly, Temari reached over and gave her surrogate little brother a tiny little hug.

"We'll never treat you like that." She said, Kankurou nodding in agreement.

The ramen was cold by now.


	3. The Mission

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 03 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 03: The Mission**

The years passed by quickly and peacefully. They graduated and became Genin, starting with Temari, then Kankurou. Gaara became an automatic Genin when he turned twelve and Naruto passed in an exam with Baki.

Unlike the Leaf Village, the Sand Village did not have three-man Genin teams because there were simply not enough Jounin to go around. Ever since the Wind Country's foolish Prime Minister cut down on all Shinobi funds, working to survive became a needless chore.

The usual system was that each Jounin would have an apprentice Genin and once the Genin qualified for the Chuunin exam, they would be paired up with two other Genin and one of the three Jounin instructors, usually the best, would be chosen to lead the squad. On the bright side, each of the Genin would be powered up because they had their sensei's undivided attention. On the other hand, it cut down greatly on teamwork.

Of course, Kazekage wasn't about to just stand around while his precious Sand Village went down in ruins with the Leaf getting all their customers, no. Now he was even more thankful that Baki brought the young little demon child to him eight years ago. Having two demon vessels would serve a magnificent purpose.

---

"We're going to invade the Leaf village?" Temari asked incredulously. "But why? The Sand and the Leaf are allies, are we not?"

"The Leaf has been drawing the Sand Village's clients since the Minister of the Wind Country signed that alliance." Baki growled. "We must take back what is ours."

"But-" Temari started, and then cut off.

"It was the Kazekage and the Sound Village's idea. And it was also his idea to send the four of you." That comment got the four of their attentions quickly.

"Listen up; this is an 'S' class mission. You are to invade the Leaf Village in the next Chuunin Exam along with another team from the Sound. The four of you will split into two teams. The first team will attend with me as the instructor. The second team will take the exam with two other Chuunin-level shinobi. Your goal is to get up to the Final Exam. Then on the third exam, the second team's add-ons will withdraw from the exam and regroup for the invasion. Understand?"

The four of them nodded. "Now decide which one of you four will be the one on the remaining team."

There was a split second pause.

"I will." Naruto said.

"No, I will." Temari said.

"No, Temari-san." Naruto said quietly, but firmly. "I'm not making fun of your skills, but if you go on the remaining team, there's no guarantee that you'll pass. If I go, there's almost no chance for failure."

Baki glanced at his student. Naruto had really grown up in an odd way and his relationship with the three Sand siblings was exceedingly unique. He got along with Temari and Kankurou just fine, which was expected, but the fact that he manages to get close to Gaara and the face that Gaara actually respected Naruto made him very special.

"So the teams are decided." Baki said. "Remember that. And Naruto, your teammates will meet you on the day before the exams when we go to the Leaf Village. Understand?" he waited for the sea of nods. "We leave for Konoha in three days. Start packing."

---

Temari polished her fan lovingly before strapping it on her back. When she first became a Genin and decided to have the fan as a weapon, she didn't anticipate how heavy it would be and consequently, rarely ever used it. But a few years later, it had become part of her image and she rarely went anywhere without it.

Kankurou wrapped his favorite puppet in bandages. Karasu would be a major part of the plan, he was told. If all things didn't work out, then its pre-installed poison gas would enable their immediate escape. Only as a precaution, of course.

Personally, he didn't like using Karasu as much as he did some of his other marionettes. But then again, Karasu was his most powerful and could hold the most weapons.

Gaara stood in the middle of the desert, holding out his hands and mumbling under his breath. The sand around him immediately began grouping and swirling and compacting together into the shape of a gourd. Once he was certain that it was solid enough, he filled the gourd with regular sand and tried it on for size.

It was insanely heavy. He had to admit; perhaps a six-foot gourd was too big. Something about half that size should do the job just fine and should also be a lot lighter...

---

"Are you sure it's wise, Baki-sensei?" Naruto asked his teacher. "Registering me as 'Uzumaki Naruto'. Wouldn't it be wiser to put some fake name?"

"It would." Baki said. "But Kazekage-sama said that the Leaf never registered you as missing and so as far as he's concerned, you were fair game. Either way, it's meant to cause them grief."

'Kazekage and his sadism.' Naruto thought dryly. 'Never get tired of it.'

Aloud, he asked, "Do you think I'm ready for it?"

Baki regarded him seriously before at last saying, "If we weren't planning an invasion along with this exam, I'm certain you would have become a Chuunin easily."

Naruto smiled. "Thanks Baki-sensei."

---

But what Baki said wasn't meant to praise Naruto. As some of you may not know, Baki has a hard time giving out compliments, something Naruto has learned over the course of the years. And he was a harsh taskmaster too.

When Naruto mastered the Bunshin no Jutsu, Baki had wanted him to learn the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu through reading because he himself could not demonstrate it. And it had taken Naruto weeks to learn that along with yet another technique, Gokkan no Jutsu, a technique that sharpened the body's five senses.

But learning multiple techniques at once had enflamed Naruto's thirst for knowledge, until one day, shortly after he became a Genin, he simply read up on the scrolls in Kazekage's library. Thus, learning even more techniques and stopping only when the Kazekage found out and though he wasn't mad or anything, he told Naruto not to go near that collection until he was older. Much older.

Unlike the Sand trio, Naruto didn't have a particular way of fighting like Gaara's absolute defense, and he didn't have a weapon that corresponded with an element like Temari's fan, and he didn't have good enough chakra control to master Puppet no Jutsu like Kankurou.

He had two distinct styles. The lesser-used one would be when he engaged the opponent in a fair fight. Then, usually, he would just wait for the opponent to waste up all his chakra and then pound the opponent through taijutsu, ninjutsu, or whatever technique he had planned in his vast library of knowledge. But he hardly ever got into a fair fight so he never used it.

When he was small and before he got kicked out of Kazekage's library, he read up a scroll on the most vulnerable and sensitive points on the human body and he remembered it all. That eventually led to his second and more used method of fighting. His second was speed combined with the contents of that scroll. A fast attack in which he would strike all of the body's pressure points and cause a great deal of pain to the enemy. It was quick, efficient, and always worked unless the adversary was faster than Naruto himself. There were very few people who were faster than Naruto.

The Kyuubi was a major part of Naruto's upbringing. The time he broke through the seal managed to leave a crack open big enough so the two of them could communicate. The Kyuubi was a permanent comrade and his personal healer, so he, too, usually returned from missions seemingly unharmed.

But the Kyuubi didn't usually come out and was usually dormant because if and when they wanted to talk, it caused stress inside Naruto's body because the seal would interfere with the body's natural functions. So usually they only talked if it was absolutely necessary.

He learned that lesson two years ago. When Naruto turned twelve, he had a sudden desire to learn a summon but didn't have an animal to contract with. The Kyuubi had offered to teach him a summon and he had accepted. Which one was it, you ask?

A fox, of course.

It didn't take him a long time because of the fox entity within him. It had taken him two weeks to learn how to summon the most basic fox and a month to learn how to summon the six-foot one with a contract if he wanted to teach anyone in the future.

Temporary paralysis in his legs was an insignificant side effect.

---

The moon was big and bright this night.

Usually, a full moon is looked upon as a sign of fortune, but if it occurs on the night before a great journey, it could also be a bad omen.

Naruto was on the roof of a random building with a great night watching spot pondering this thought when he heard a presence of someone appearing behind him.

"You shouldn't do that," he said, not bothering to turn around. "One day you're going to actually scare someone so bad they wet themselves." He finally looked at his visitor. "Gaara."

Gaara said nothing, but sat down next to the blonde. They said nothing. It was what their 'connection' was composed of. Long, but comfortable silences.

"You okay with this mission?" Naruto asked, finally breaking the silence. "Shukaku and everything?"

"..."

"Are you really? Because I don't think I'd be okay if I was up for a mission just because of the Kyuubi."

Gaara closed his eyes. The insomniac lines around his eyes were becoming more defined everyday and were slowing ebbing away his sanity. Naruto saw that and knew it. He was also afraid that this mission would be the one that broke and shattered what remained of that precious sanity. What he didn't know was that he was also one of the few people that kept the sanity intact.

"I'll be fine."

There was yet another long and comfortable silence. Finally, Naruto got up and said, "I better get back. Temari's probably going to kill me if I don't get some rest before the big day. Later."

Gaara nodded, making no effort to turn around and say farewell to Naruto's retreating back. They were both demons and they both understood each other. That was enough.

---

Naruto slipped into the living room silently and was surprised to find that Temari and Kankurou were still awake.

"What're you guys doing up?" he asked, surprised. Then he grinned. "Excited?"

They nodded. "This isn't an easy mission, Naruto." Temari said. "This could be the one that makes or destroys the Sand village. And it's all on our shoulders." She shivered in anticipation. "I'm nervous."

"Don't be." Naruto said.

"You should talk," Kankurou replied. "You're not the one who's on a team with Gaara. In fact, why don't you switch places with me? If that doesn't work, I'm sure you could switch places with Gaara. That'd be the best."

"Nah." Naruto said. "Those two other Genin are probably going to get killed if they're on Gaara's team. Trust me; the arrangements right now are the best it's going to be. Besides, we already submitted our registrations. So it's a little late." He laughed and headed upstairs toward the bedroom. "Come on, both of you. Let's not worry and go get some sleep. We have to get to the Leaf tomorrow and we need the energy."

Temari gazed at him. "What about you, Naruto? How do you feel about going back to the Leaf Village after so long?"

Naruto paused, mid-step. "I was too little to remember anything." He said. "But I feel nothing for it and I have nothing against it. That's all."

---

He tossed. He turned. He rolled over. Nope. Couldn't fall asleep. He sat up and looked out the window at the full moon.

'Oy, baka kitsune. You there?'

There was a slight stirring in the back of his mind. Then he got a reply. 'What's this?' sneered the Kyuubi, 'Don't ye have some top-secret mission tomorrow? Get some damn sleep ye stupid brat.' Naruto grinned. He was as nice as ever.

'Nah, can't get any sleep.'

'Ye talk right now, ye not gonna be in full health for the exam. And I want some sleep too. So go away.'

'We got an entire day to rest up in Konoha before the actual test takes place. Besides, since when did you ever sleep?'

'Since now. Ah, what the heck. Whaddaya want, kuzo?'

'You're going to help me during the exams, right? Healing and everything?'

'...THAT'S what ye woke me up at to tell me? Have I ever NOT fixed ye? Show some damn faith little human."

Naruto was about to laugh when suddenly his left arm flared up painfully.

'See? What I tell ye? Talk for no reason and ye get hurt. Now go to sleep you stupid, stupid child.'

Naruto smiled to himself and rubbed his left hand as the link was severed. The Kyuubi didn't show it, but he cared.

---

There were actually more than ten teams of Genin going to Konoha. But since only two teams were expected to make it up to the final exam, only those two teams were informed of the mission.

Each team made their way South toward Konoha separately on foot.

Naruto's team was composed of two generic Sand Nins. One, Kurosaki Uematsu, had half his face covered in a cloth. The other, Nubuo Wataru, had his entire face bandaged so only a pair of sunglasses was showing. Both were years older than he was and both were about two heads taller than he was.

---

As they entered the gates, they received their passports and invited to wander around the village.

The majority of the Sand Genin took up the offer. The three of them were no exception. Gaara had excused himself to the hotel, leaving the rest of them to explore (in Naruto's case, re-explore) the Leaf Village.

Temari and Kankurou headed for the BBQ restaurant. And Naruto, having nothing better to do tagged along with them. After all, it had been a whole day and he was hungry.

---

Team Ten had been enjoying their barbecue happily and without incident until the café received visitors. Foreign visitors.

There was a girl with sandy hair in a purple dress with a fan buckled to her back. There was a boy dressed in black with purple face paint carrying something that looked extremely heavy. Then there was a blond boy with blue eyes a few years younger than the first two.

Their forehead protectors, though located elsewhere than their foreheads, all confirmed that they were from the Sand Village.

"Ne, Asuma," Shikamaru said under his breathe, "Aren't Sand Nin usually forbidden to go to ally villages even though they are allies?"

Asuma remembers NOW why he brought them to a barbecue, even though Chouji already quintupled his tab.

"True, but these Genin are here for the Chuunin Exam. Which I've recommended you for."

"What?" Ino exclaimed in the middle of reaching for a particularly large piece of meat, "You recommended us for the CHUUNIN exam? Are you sure that we're ready for it?"

"Sasuke's team is going to be in it."

"Oh, then we're DEFINITELY ready." Ino said, suddenly full of joviality.

'Mention Sasuke's name and she's all over it.' Shikamaru thought sourly. "Women are so difficult."

---

That night, as he lay in bed, Naruto thought carefully about this exam. So far, the six of them had been told everything Baki knew about the exams. For the first test, it was information gathering. The second was survival, and the third would be an actual tournament. As the plan stated, Kurosaki and Nubou would withdraw from the third exam and assemble with the other Sand Nins.

All of them had to at least make it to the finals of the third exam. There was no need to tell any of the other Sand teams unless they, too, made it to at least the Finals. But since that possibility was unlikely, there was probably no need to do anything anyway.

He had also been told that all the Konoha rookie Genin would be attending this year. And if he calculated right, they would be the people he went to school with in that brief year. Would he recognize any of them?

Naruto held his left hand up in the moonlight. For some reason, talking with Kyuubi the night before had royally messed his hand up. Usually, it would only take about a night to heal and yet it still pained him. And he needed to be in full health for the upcoming exam.

He rolled over, fully intent on falling asleep. 'When this is all over,' he promised himself, 'I'll start working on some type of healing or numbing jutsu.'

---

Temari was about to go wake Naruto up when she heard a sickening splotch coming from behind the doors. She opened it and saw what appeared to be the crushed remains of a flower pot on the floor.

"Full health again?" she asked.

"Yea." He said, shaking the bits and pieces of hardened clay from his hands.

"Good. Let's go."


	4. The First Test

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 04 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 04: The First Test**

As Naruto, Kurosaki, and Nubou headed up to the third floor for registration, they passed by the second floor classroom where a group of Leaf Genin were asking to be let in.

'Can they not count floors?' Naruto thought, not even sparing them a second look as he walked past them. 'This is only the second floor. Learn to take the stairs next time, oh stupid people'

As they made their way up to the classroom to wait, Kurosaki said, "Naruto- san, we'll follow whatever order it is you need carried out. Everything we do will be on your command."

Naruto nodded and glanced at her. Her? Yes, upon closer look, 'Kurosaki' was a girl. How embarrassing for him. Naruto glanced at Nubou- definitely a guy.

---

The clock was ticking by minute after minute. And still the instructor hasn't shown. The Sound Team already made quite a show with the Leaf rookies and-

"QUIET DOWN YOU WORTHLESS BASTARDS."

Well about BLOODY time.

"Thanks for waiting. I am Morino Ibiki. The examiner for the Chuunin Selection Exam's first test." He then berated the team from the Sound village for openly attacking other shinobi. In which the Sound team made a rather lame comeback.

'And WE'RE allied with THEM...'

---

Naruto glanced around him. There was a girl with dark hair and white eyes sitting next to him and a boy with brown hair and an eye patch sitting on his other side.

'Information gathering, eh, Baki-sensei?' Naruto thought. 'Excellent hint.' He formed a couple of seals then hissed out a "GOKKAN NO JUTSU."

Immediately, he felt all his five senses increase dramatically. His sight magnified, his hearing increased, his sense of smell picked up all the scents in the air, his tongue tasted of the sushi he had this morning, and his hands could feel every single little notch and imperfection in the wood.

Hinata, who was in fact the person sitting next to him, felt a strange sensation beside her. She glanced over at the boy next to her and gasped silently. He was positively on fire. He had so much chakra in use right now it was outrageous.

'Who is he?' she thought, feeling fear for the second time that day.

Naruto looked right and left of him. This method didn't exactly take up a whole lot of chakra, but it exhausted his physical body. He needed to find someone and start copying quickly. He finally saw something. Someone with a goatee and had the bulge of a Chuunin vest under his jack. Bingo.

He began copying the words on his page as fast as he possibly could, and finished in a few minutes. After he was complete, he immediately deactivated the Gokkan no Jutsu and laid his head down to rest.

'Gokkan no Jutsu was the perfect skill for this. After all, it can only be used in spying missions.' He thought to himself. 'If you used it in a real fight, then you'd be much more vulnerable and susceptible to injury.'

He forced his head up. 'How are the rest of them doing?'

Gaara was using the Third Eye of Shukaku. Good. He caught Temari's eyes and motioned up to the ceiling where there were four mirrors stationed. Kankurou had already came back from the bathroom.

He glanced at the two of his teammates. They each nodded in affirmation. Good. Now all he needs now to pass the first test is the last question.

---

'Now,' he thought, 'Just for the fun of it, while the Gokkan no Jutsu lasts, let's take a look at what everyone else is doing.'

He glanced at the girl next to him and started. Her eyes had veins around them and she was copying off the same guy he was previously cheating off of.

'Smart girl. Weird eyes though.' He thought back to a scroll he had read up on Leaf family lines. 'White eyes, pale skin, and the family symbol being a puff of cloud. She's probably a Hyuuga. Interesting.'

He looked over at the Sound team. They were cheating by listening to the sounds of the pencil. 'They're not stupid after all'

He closed his eyes and heard a slight barking. Barking? 'Didn't know they allowed animals in here.' He thought. The slight creak of the mirrors above him made Naruto smile. 'Don't need the Gokkan no Jutsu for this.' He thought.

---

Morino Ibiki looked at the group of students. About 32 teams have already been eliminated. But out of all these teams, it was clear that the most confident teams were the two from the Sand and the single Sound team. They were strangely calm- very odd indeed.

He looked at the clock. Fifteen minutes remaining.

"Ok." He said aloud, "We will now start the tenth question."

---

"The rules for this question are that you must decide whether or not you want to take it." Ibiki said. "If you choose not to take it, then your points are reduced to zero and you fail along with your teammates."

"And if you choose to take it and fail to answer it," he continued over the wave of protests, "Then you'll lose the privilege to take the Chuunin Exam ever again.

---

Naruto glared at the Examiner. This man was a true master at manipulating minds.

If he was taking this test for real in hopes of becoming a Chuunin, he'd be terrified too. But since this wasn't the case, all he had to do was ride it out and hope for the best. He didn't care if he ever became Chuunin.

For others, however, it was a slap in the face.  
"I won't take it!"

The man who was sitting next to Naruto stood up.

"Number 50, fail. Number 130, number 111, also fail."

Then, as if a wave hit the room, a number of people began voluntarily quitting the exam. Finally, only 21 of the original 67 teams remained.

When it looked like no one else was giving up, Ibiki finally said, "And to the rest of you who remain."

They held their breath in anticipation.

"I congratulate you on passing the first exam."

---

"Wait, what do you mean we already pass?" a pink hair girl with green eyes asked. "What about the tenth question?"

"There was never such a thing," Ibiki said, grinning, changing altogether into another person. "Or you could say that those choices were the question."

"Then what were the first nine questions for?" asked a voice Naruto recognized as Temari's. "They were pointless then."

"No, those first nine questions served their purpose. To test your information gathering abilities. That purpose."

"First, as the rules explained, success on this test is based on the whole team doing well. This puts pressure on each member not to mess things up for their teammates. But since the questions on the test were not the types that a mere Genin could answer, I'm sure most people came to the conclusion that 'to score points, I'll have to cheat'. Basically, the premise of this test is to cheat. As cheating targets, we had two or so Chuunins who knew all the answers mixed into the crowd to help you guys out."

As he said that, the two Chuunins waved at everyone. One of them was the man with the goatee that Naruto and the girl next to him cheated off of.

"But those who cheat poorly," Ibiki continued, taking off his hitaite, "fail, of course." What his hitaite revealed a head full of burn marks, scars, and screw holes.

"If the enemy, or third party, notices you," Ibiki said, "there will be no guarantee that the information is correct. I want you to remember this. Important information can be a powerful weapon for you and your village. That's why we had you gather information through cheating. This clearly separated those who did and did not have the right abilities."

"But I don't understand the purpose of the tenth question." Temari persisted.

"But the tenth question is the purpose of the test. How about those two choices... say you guys become Chuunin. Your mission is to steal an important document. The amount of ninjas, abilities, and etc, is unknown to you. Do you take it, or do you not take it? The decision to take the mission is what will separate the Genin and the Chuunin. Understand?"

After receiving a few hesitant nods, Ibiki said, "Then, knowing that, I wish you luck in the future."

---

Most of them were about to breathe a sigh of relief when suddenly, the window shattered and a figure rolled in sticking kunai into the ceiling and unrolling a flag that read 'The Second Examiner, Mitsurashi Anko.'

"I'm the examiner for the second test, Mitsurashi Anko. Now let's GO!" She pumped her fists into the air.

Silence.

'Tactless.' Ibiki thought.

'She acts just like Temari when she's drunk.' Naruto and Kankurou thought simultaneously. Temari sneezed.

"63? You let 21 teams past, Ibiki?" Anko all but snarled, "The test was way too easy this time. Oh well, it's all good. I'll cut them in half at least in the second test."

She turned her gaze on the Genin, suddenly resembling a snake, a cobra, hood spread, ready to strike. "Ah, I'm getting excited." She said. "I'll explain once we change places. Follow me."

---

They arrived in front of a metal wired gate. Beyond the gate was a thick forest whose trees sported trunks more than five times fatter than all of them put together and even more times wide.

"Welcome to the state for the second test, practice arena 44." Anko said. "Also known as the Akagahara, the Forest of Death."


	5. Akagahara

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 05 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 05: Akagahara**

The forest extended beyond what the eye could see. It was also dark, creepy and looked like something straight off the set of one of those horror movies Kankurou derived inspirations of his dolls from.

"You'll soon find out why this is called the Forest of Death." Anko said, eyes once again resembling that of a snake's. "Now, before we start the second test, there's something I need to pass out." She drew a packet of papers out of her trench coat. "You must sign this agreement forms." She said. "There's going to be death in this one and if any of you die, your deaths won't be on my head."

Silence.

"Anyway." She continued, "I'm going to explain the second exam and then you can sign the agreement. Then each team can check in at that booth." She jerked her hand behind her. "This test deals with survival."

She drew out two scrolls, one black with the kanji 'Land' and one white with the kanji 'Sky'.

"You will participate in a no strings attached scroll battle. These are the two you will be fighting over. There are 21 teams here. That means there will be an extra Heaven or Earth scroll. To pass the test, you must make it to the tower with both scrolls. There's a time limit. This test will last exactly 120 hours."

"You're on your own." She said over the voices of objection. "The forest is full of food. Just watch out for man-eating beasts, poisonous insects, and poisonous plants." She then went on to explain some of the dangers of the forest and what would eventually become some of their concerns.

"Now I will explain what will disqualify you." She said, face still full of joy like it was a hot summer day and someone just handed her a Popsicle. "One, those who don't make it to the tower with both scrolls within the time limit. Two, this is a team exam. Those who lose teammates or whose teammates are killed are disqualified. There is no quitting this. Once you sign the agreement, you will remain in the forest for five days. Last, you are not to look inside the scrolls until you are at the tower. The consequence of taking a look will be dealt to those who are stupid enough to disregard that."

"Once you exchange your forms for a scroll, choose a gate and get ready for the exam to start." Anko said. Then, she hastily added the following words.

"A word of advice. Don't die."

---

Naruto sat on a rock and surveyed the teams while Kurosaki exchanged the scrolls. Of the remaining 21 teams, there was of course, his team, Gaara's team, and the team from the Sound. There were two teams from the Grass; three teams from the Rain, Kabuto's team, and the rest were Leaf shinobi.

Kurosaki was back.

"We have a Ten scroll." She said to him and Nubou as they headed towards Gate 23. "What team shall we got after, Naruto-san?"

"Go after a Leaf team." Naruto whispered back. "There's too many of them. They're like insects. What do you think, Nubou?"

"..."

"No objections? Good. We go after Leaf."

---

"START!"

Once the gate opened, the three of them immediately dashed in.

"Where do we look first?" Naruto mused. "I wonder..."

"Would Gaara-san have any trouble?" Kurosaki asked.

"The only people we need to worry about are us and that team from the Sound." Naruto said. "I don't trust them."

"Should we check up on them?"

"First, let's secure a scroll. Then we'll see what's what." Naruto said, nodding his head towards a cave in the distance. As they entered the cave, he stuck a kunai on the wall. "We'll meet here in about an hour. Try and get one scroll. I don't care if it's an Earth scroll or if it's a Heaven scroll. The more we get the better. But don't challenge someone unless you're sure you can win and don't carelessly injure yourself. Got it?"

His two teammates nodded. "Alright. One hour. I'll keep the scroll with me. Go."

---

Naruto headed over towards the north, east of the tower. Suddenly, he stopped.

"I know you're there. Get out here." he said. Three Leaf Genin crawled out from under a bush. In fact, they looked very familiar. He recognized them as the three he had seen in the BBQ place.

"Mah," said the one with black hair tied back in an upstanding ponytail, "Let's see what scrolls we have before we start fighting. If we have the same one then there's no need to-"

"Forget it." Naruto interrupted in disgust, turning his back on them. "Your scroll's not even worth taking if you're not willing to fight for it."

As he left, he heart the girl with long blonde hair say, "Damn! That's the SECOND person who doesn't want our scroll."

---

Kurosaki ran through the forest and came to a sudden stop. There was a team from the Rain here. She knew she was supposed to target Leaf Nin but still... she could never resist an easy kill.

She closed her eyes and slowly began engulfing the Rain team in her genjutsu. She formed a few seals then whispered out a quiet "Kami no Kuro Hikari."

All that was heard then was the sound of blood drenching tree trunks as three people lost their lives.

---

Meanwhile, Nubou was making his way back to the cave. Surprisingly, in the last hour, all he had encountered were wild beasts. No teams. Too bad. He really wanted to try out his technique-wait. There was a team now. It was from the Leaf. Excellent.

He raised his arms. His bandages on his hand began to unfurl, revealing empty air beneath his bandages. Naruto wasn't that far off when he said that Nubou resembled the Invisible Man.

The bandages began sneaking behind each of them. Then, without warning, it wrapped itself around their necks and gave a sharp tug.

'One team down.'

---

Naruto looked at the sun. It's been about an hour by now. He should be heading back to the cave. But he didn't want to be the only one who went back without a scroll. He continued his leaps and bounds, looking for a team, any team when- what's this?

It was a group. A very BIG group. Three- no FOUR leaf teams and one Sound team. 'I knew we couldn't trust them.' He thought warily. But there was a power coming from that little clearing. It was a boy dressed in blue and his body was covered in marks.

Naruto started. He knew those marks. He had seen them on the henchman of the man who fueled Kazekage's idea of a Leaf invasion. That man's name...

Orochimaru.

---

Sasuke looked at his body. Power, tremendous power was overflowing his chakra system. And it felt amazingly good. He gave Zaku's arm another twist and gave him a kick that sent him flying into a tree.

'Who's next?' he thought. 'Who shall I destroy next?' Now, he could sense the different chakra of the people around him. There was Sakura's weak one, Haku's unconscious one, and that Hyuuga freak's strong one. But no... there was someone above that whose chakra was even stronger than that of the Hyuuga's. He looked above. There was a Nin from the Sand staring down at him. He grinned evilly.

"You up there." He called. "Get down here."

Sakura, and the other two teams of the Leaf glanced up and saw nothing. But when they looked back down, they saw that he had landed on the ground with ease. It was only then that Shikamaru recognized him as the boy from the BBQ.

"What's your name?" Sasuke asked, feeling particularly confident. This power... it made him feel like he could do things he had never done before and go places he had never gone.

The boy stared at him, then shook his head, almost sadly. "You've got to be incredibly stupid if you think I'm going to tell you just because you asked."

Sasuke grinned insanely. "Maybe I'll just force it out of you then."

The outcome of the match would have been very interesting. Too bad a certain pink haired girl interrupted it. She threw her arms around Sasuke and begged him not to fight. Don't do it.

To his eternal disappointment, the boy with black hair whom that girl called Sasuke actually listened to her. 'Damn.' Naruto thought as Sasuke sat down heavily. 'I wanted a f#& scroll.'

He turned his gaze upon that girl. "That wasn't a very wise thing to do." He said acidly. "I could just attack and you'd be the one who's responsible for any injuries he might have." He sighed again as the girl's eyes grew wider. "Too bad I'm not that kind of person."

Just then, his two teammates landed beside him on their knees. "Eh? What're you guys doing here?" Naruto asked. "I thought I told you to meet in the cave."

"You're very late, Naruto-san." Kurosaki said, head bowed.

"Oh well. We're done here anyway. Let's go." With that, the three Sand Nins disappeared.

---

'Uchiha Sasuke.' Neji thought. 'A worthy opponent.' Then he remembered that blonde Sand Nin. Too bad he didn't get to see his skills. That would have been very interesting indeed.

"Neji." He glanced down at his teammate. Ten-Ten and a very wounded and very exhausted Lee. "Ready?"

He nodded. "Let's leave."

---

Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji made their way away from the clearing.

"That was just weird." Ino babbled. "And that Sand guy. Imagine him thinking he can take on Sasuke-kun."

'That's not what's really weird.' Shikamaru thought. 'I think it's weird that his teammates aren't the two people we saw with him in the BBQ. I think it's weird that his teammates don't act like his teammates and they act more like his soldiers. But if you take the topic away from Sasuke, then she'd probably beat you over the head. Women. So damn annoying.'

---

"Sasuke-kun, are you alright?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"Yea." He said, panting heavily. "How's Haku?"

"I'm right behind you." The feminine boy said. He looked tired and a little worn out, but was otherwise just fine.

"Neh, Sakura." Sasuke said, "What was the name that Sand girl called that blonde?"

"Umm... I think it was Naruto."

'Naruto.' Sasuke thought. Aloud, he said, "Does that name sound familiar to you?"

Sakura blinked. "Not really." She said honestly. "Why?"

"It's nothing." Sasuke said. But he could have sworn he heard the name Naruto somewhere before.

---

"What'd you guys get?"

"We have two 'Earth' scrolls plus our 'Heaven'." Kurosaki reported. Oddly, Naruto was the only one who didn't get a scroll. Then, as if he read her mind, he said,

"I was going to get a scroll. Really. But I got distracted." He picked up the extra Earth scroll. "And since our little Sound Nin friends seemed to have misplaced their scroll," he said, "perhaps we should give this to them."

He stood up. "Let's go."

---

Dosu was tending to his teammates' injuries when he heard a voice say, "Guess you're not all that good are you?"

He spun around. Who could have possibly sneaked up behind him without him noticing? He saw his visitors and gave a little sigh of relief. The team from the Sand who had provided for his hasty escape. The bandaged Nin with sunglasses threw something at him and he caught it. An Earth scroll.

"Another chance." The blonde said, before turning to leave. "Don't mess it up, please."

---

"So what do we do now?" Kurosaki asked. "Should we head for the tower?"

"Didn't that witch of an instructor say that we were suppose to be in the forest for 120 hours?"

"The tower is in the forest."

"True enough- I don't see why not. What do you think, Nubou-san?"

"..."

"Still not talking?"

"..."

"No objections then- let's head head for the tower."

---

The tower was dark and dingy. It looked like someone hasn't swept the place in years. That was what Hinata thought when she stepped in the place. Of course, her team didn't care much about cleanliness so long as they passed.

"Well, that's it for us." Kiba said, flopping down on the dust covered floor. "Now we just wait it out, eh, Akamaru? Hmm? Akamaru?"

The dog was buried inside his hood and whimpering slightly. "What's wrong?" he asked.

'There's a guy who's really strong coming.' Akamaru barked. 'He has the same air as the guy from the Sand.'

"Is he strong?" Kiba asked.

'Maybe.'

"What do you mean maybe?"

'I can't tell if he's strong or not.'

Kiba said to his teammates, "Akamaru says that there's a guy coming who gives off the same air as that creepy guy from the Sand."

Shino and Hinata started. The image of bloody raining down upon them was hard to forget and now there was a guy coming who has the same air?

They heard footsteps and saw the other team from the Sand. Hinata recognized the blonde as the one who was sitting next to her during the first exam. The three of them walked past without giving them a look.

Once they were out of earshot, Kiba whispered to Akamaru, "That team doesn't look so tough. What're you talking about?"

Akamaru gave a bark in reply. "That guy has more power than the other- what the- did your nose die or something? What was that? You feel a demon? He's that strong? Your nose probably ran away or something."

---

"Lucky." Naruto said, "We passed in six hours. I didn't expect that team from the Rain to hold us off so long, but oh well. They've met Kami-sama. Now what do we do?"

"Kazeno-sensei told us that we're to stay here until the last day." Kurosaki said.

"Stay here? It's worse than my room and that's saying a whole lot."

Kurosaki hid a half smile behind her mask. Naruto didn't act a bit like someone with a demonic presence in them. He was funny.

Naruto sat down on the floor after some hesitation and took a bottle of water out from his pouch. He wet his finger, then drew a line of liquid on each of his scars he had gotten in the forest, careful only to wet the area skin that had been cut. Then, before her and Nubou, the scars began smoking and sealing themselves up.

After a few moments, all the injuries he had gotten in the forest were gone and he looked like he just came from a walk in the park.

"All ready. Let's rest." A command his temporary teammates agreed on readily. They had made it to the third exam. Now their mission was just about halfway through.


	6. The Third Test

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 06 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 06: The Third Test**

The Sandaime Hokage-sama had not changed in all those years. He was still that old man from eight years ago and he was the only face that Naruto recognized among the crowd of Jounin instructors other than Baki-sensei, Kazeno-sensei, and Orochimaru.

Only eight teams out of the original 21 passed. Most of them were Leaf's rookie Genin too.

"Listen up carefully," Anko said, "Hokage-sama will now explain the third test."

The Sandaime then went on to explain the reason for the Chuunin Exam. About how it was a replacement for wars between countries.

'Not so.' Naruto thought. 'There's a war coming soon, Sandaime Hokage-SAMA. How pitiful it is that you have no idea.'

When Sandaime was finished with his speech, and just when he was about to start on the rules for the third exam, a Jounin appeared in a puff of smoke and asked to be the one who explained the third exam.

"I'm Gekkou Hayate." He said once he was given permission. "Before the third exam takes place, there's something I'd like you to do, and that is to participate in a preliminary for the third test."

'What's wrong with that guy?' Sick looking face, circles under his eyes, constant coughing, and a bit of blue tinge on his face all signaled that he had some sort of chronic disease.

"We have a bit too many people remaining." He said. "The fights could take too long and we're limited on time. So anyone who doesn't wish to take the exam, please come forward. We're starting the preliminaries immediately..."

"What? Right now?" asked dog-boy.

"Yes. Right now."

---

Naruto nodded at the two of his teammates.

"We're going." They said, raising their hands.

"You're Kurosaki and Nubou from the Sand, right?" Hayate coughed. "You may leave now."

---

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. This was simply too unusual. Those two Sand Nins were leaving even though they looked perfectly healthy. That blonde boy, Naruto was it? He was acting way too calm about this. Two of his teammates were leaving and he didn't seem to care.

'What kind of shinobi does the Sand village create that could be so heartless?'

Kabuto was the next and last one to resign from the test after that. It was expected. After all, he had voluntarily quit from the exams six times before. One more wouldn't matter.

"Umm... there will be no more retiring right?" Hayate asked. "Since there is an odd number of people here, we will have ten matches and the extra one will advance automatically to the finals. There are no rules. The fight will end only when someone is dead, knocked out, or surrenders. The electronic scoreboard will be the one that decides your opponent. Now, will everyone please clear the floor? The first match will begin in five minutes."

---

"Hey. You three got through it just fine." Naruto said, heading toward the staircase on the right along with all the other non-Leaf Genins.

"No thanks to you." Kankurou replied jokingly. Then, he lowered his voice. "Everything's going to plan."

"Yea. Just be careful in your fights, all of you."

The scoreboard suddenly came to life, spinning a bunch of names before settling on two:

"Haku and Akamichi Chouji. Please come forward."

The former Mist Nin made his way back down to the floor. The self-dubbed- big-boned boy had to be 'convinced' forcibly by his two teammates, and only willingly went down after being promised an all-you-can-eat barbecue.

"GET HIM CHOUJI! YOU OLD FATASS!"

Immediately upon hearing those words from Ino's mouth, Chouji's eyes burst into flames. "I'M NOT FAT. I'M JUST BIG-BONED." He shouted angrily, silently swearing to kill Ino once he took care of the girly-looking guy in front of him.

"NINPOU! BAIKA NO JUTSU Multi-size technique" He shouted, inflating into a human balloon. "He stuck his legs, arms, and head into his clothing like a turtle and it's shell and began rolling.

'Useless.' Sakura thought. 'That kind of speed won't get you anywhere near Haku-san. His speed is even more impressive than Sasuke-kun.'

Sure enough, all Haku had to do was dodge from the rolling meatball. And if he ever got cornered, he simply jumped, landed a step on the rolling Chouji, and escape to the other side of the room. He didn't even get a chance to use his needles yet.

Shikamaru slapped his forehead. This match took a bit of brains to win and Chouji's lack of brainpower would be what cost him this match.

"Oy! Imma sho dizshy!" Chouji mumbled incoherently, swaying from side to side before falling on the ground. Haku didn't even get a chance to use his senbon acupuncture needles.

"Um... Akamichi Chouji is unable to battle. Winner, Haku."

---

"Ugh." Ino said, bringing her hand up to her face. "Chouji, you were so close."

"At least he didn't get hurt." Shikamaru said as Asuma hauled Chouji up the stairs. "He just fell asleep out of dizziness. Sheesh. His opponent wasn't even trying."

---

"Haku..." Naruto thought. "His clothing is odd. It's not from the Leaf. It looks like something the Mist shinobi wore that time. I wonder…"

---

"Next match, Akado Yoroi and Hyuuga Neji. Please come down."

The next two contenders faced each other. "Umm... You may begin."

They immediately dashed forward, Neji with his Byakugan activated and Yoroi with his hands outstretched. Neji managed to land one blow on him before Yoroi grabbed his wrists. Then, Neji felt the odd sensation of chakra being drained by his opponent.

'What the...?' He managed to break away from Yoroi who looked extremely pleased with himself. 'He can absorb chakra?' Neji thought, rubbing his wrist lightly. 'Well then...'

He dashed forward, intent on another close-contact round. Yoroi, try as he may, couldn't get close enough to get a grasp on him so he settled for exchanging punches. The problem was that Yoroi knew that Neji's punches were hurting him a lot more than his was hurting Neji.

Finally, he saw an opportunity. Neji had finally left his head unprotected, a big mistake. He immediately made a grab for Neji's forehead. Once his hand touched the headband, he said confidently, "You're mine."

He waited for a moment, but felt no rush of power. He looked down and his hands were still around Neji's forehead. Why couldn't he feel any power? WHY?

"I've closed the tenketsus in your hand." Neji said from underneath him. "You can't release nor can you absorb chakra."

'WHAT?'

"And now," Neji said, "you will lose this match, just as you were intended to from the start."

Without his chakra draining ability, Yoroi was just another shinobi. And since he was at a disadvantage against the Hyuuga genius, you can easily guess how the match turns out.

"Winner, Neji." Hayate said, motioning quickly for medic Nins. The Hyuuga had shown absolutely no mercy. He had attacked the internal organs with precision and didn't hold back, even just a little bit. Yoroi wouldn't be able to use his arms or legs for a long time.

---

"Hyuuga Neji. The Hyuuga family clan is the oldest and most noble one in Konoha. That's what Kazekage's scrolls said," said Naruto. "They're also a pain in the ass on the battlefield unless you're fighting with them."

"Hyuuga... Neji." Next to him, Gaara gave a small, sardonic laugh. "Another opponent worth fighting."

Naruto looked surprised. Then, he smiled in the same terrifying manner as Gaara. "Yea."

---

The scoreboard came back to life and started zipping through names again, one by one. Finally it settled on two.

Gaara of the Sand and Abumi Zaku of the Sound.

'How boring.' Naruto thought. 'This match is already decided before it even begins.'

Zaku gritted his teeth. He had heard of this Gaara. He had been told by Orochimaru-sama to stay out of his way. But he had also been told to get to the third exam by any means necessary.

He glanced down at his arm. It was still injured from when that Sasuke bastard dislocated them. 'Damn.' He thought. 'This is bad.'

He raised his good arm and sent a blast of air towards the moody looking Gaara. His blast never connected. The Sand deflected it completely.

"Is that all?" Gaara asked apathetically. "Too bad."

The sand that had protected Gaara suddenly began spiraling towards Zaku, traveling on the airwaves. Zaku quickly stopped the windblasts only to have the sand fall on the floor and begin making it's way toward him.

He jumped back several feet until the sand finally retracted, once again orbiting around his opponent protectively.

Zaku muttered words unprintable under his breath. This guy was probably better at close-range combat than long range.

"Take this," he yelled, raising both hands and concentrating his power to maximum.

Gaara was actually surprised by the force of the waves. It forced him off his feet and slammed him into the wall, and would have done him major damage if he did not have his gourd. It acted as a cushion and softened the impact while Gaara concentrated on sending a trail of sand to crawl up Zaku's legs and plug the two holes in his hand at the right time.

Zaku, concentrating on the airblasts, didn't notice the sand. But once he stopped his attack, he sure became aware of it. Before he could react, however, the sand forced its way inside both his arms and remained plugged in there. He froze. The sensations of sand crawling up deeper inside his arms paralyzing him.

"S-stop." He said voice shaking slightly. "STOP. I surrender." He fell to his knees as the sand began slowly sifting from his arms and Hayate proclaimed Gaara the winner.

'I didn't even do anything.' Gaara thought disdainfully, bending over to pick up his cork as the last bit of sand made its' way back in the gourd. 'Wimp.'

"Welcome back Gaara." Temari said as her little brother 'teleported' beside her. He gave her a small nod before turning his attention back to the arena below.

---

"Me next, me next, ME NEXT!" Lee prayed aloud.

"Lee next, Lee next, LEE NEXT!" Gai prayed aloud. It finally settled on two names. Haruno Sakura VS Nara Shikamaru

---

"IKEEI! SHIKAMARU!" Ino cheered from the stands above. "BLOW HER AWAY WITH YOUR SIXTEEN HIT COMBO!"

'Stupid woman.' Shikamaru thought, annoyed. 'I don't even HAVE a sixteen hit combo..." He looked at the pink haired girl. 'Didn't she and Ino use to be really good friends?' he wondered briefly before his thoughts shifted to the fight.

'Man. Why do I always have to be the one stuck with a girl?'

'Shikamaru fights using a shadow-binding technique.' Sakura thought. 'What could possibly counter that?' The only idea that came to mind that she would be able to do was...

Both of them began to form seals and both began running toward their opponent. 'It's a one-hit all-or-nothing battle.' Sakura thought. 'I hope this works.'

She finished her jutsu just as Shikamaru's shadow began to expand toward hers. 'NOW!'

"Ninpou, Kagemane no Jutsu."

Shikamaru's shadow was about to capture hers when Sakura disappeared in a technique Shikamaru affirmed as the Kawarimi no Jutsu. The replacement Sakura had decided to settle on was-

"AGHHHHH!"

Ino.

Sakura appeared behind Shikamaru and was about to stab him with her kunai when she felt her body come to a stop.

'No way!' she thought, mind racing. 'How did he...'

"I can extend two shadows from my body at the same time." Shikamaru said, turning around, releasing Ino. "And now," he said, making her drop the kunai in her right hand. "You have no weapon."

He raised his hand, which held a kunai and a shuriken.

"I really don't want to be the first one here who kills someone." Shikamaru said, switching them from his left hand to his right hand. "So could you just give up?"

Sakura glared at him. She would rather get a face full of metal than surrender. But luckily, it never came to that. Hayate stopped the match and declared a winner before anything drastic could happen.

---

Kakashi glanced down at Sasuke. His hands were clamped onto where the curse seal was and it was obviously paining him no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

He bent down next to the boy's ear. "If you don't go within the next two rounds." He whispered. "I'm withdrawing you from the tournament and sealing 'it' up."

Sasuke spun around. "No." He said firmly even as a new wave of pain shot through him "I'm not withdrawing."

"You sound like I'm actually giving you a choice."

"I'm not-"

"Enough." Kakashi broke in. "I'm tired of your selfishness. Two more, and if you don't go, then you're leaving the exam."

Sasuke fell silent and turned his glare on the scoreboard. The next two names better include his.

---

"I wanna go next." Kiba said, throwing his arms up in frustration. "C'MON you unwieldy machine. MY NAME NEXT, MY NAME NEXT! If I don't go soon all the strong guys will be gone and I'll be stuck with the weak ones."

"Kiba-kun, you shouldn't say that." Hinata said, hands raised. "You'll offend..."

She trailed off, noticing that he wasn't paying attention to her. He was looking at the electronic board with a dazed expression on his face.

Hinata turned around and saw that the machine had settled on two names.

Uzumaki Naruto VS Hyuuga Hinata


	7. Strife

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 07 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 07: Strife**

Hinata's eyes widened. She looked toward the arena where Uzumaki Naruto was already waiting. He was that blonde boy from the sand that Akamaru had been scared of.

'He's so cold.' She thought. She did not need the Byakugan to see that his eyes did not radiate anything, no warmth, no emotions, nothing. 'I am… I feel scared.'

"Hinata," said Kiba uncertainly, "if you want to give up, we won't think any less of you..."

"No. I-I'll fight."

Kiba let his teammate past, wondering if he was in the right for letting Hinata fight. He knew that if he pressed just a bit more, she would give in and give up the match.

'Please be okay, Hinata.'

---

Naruto stared at his opponent. It was that timid Hyuuga girl he was sitting next to in the first exam five days ago.

'Crap.' He thought. 'I hate fighting girls. The only girl I've ever fought whose didn't scream the minute I came near her is Temari. And come to think about it, there's probably something wrong with her... God, I hate fighting girls.' Once they were given the okay, both of them got into fighting stance and Hinata activated her Byakugan.

'Hey, she's doing the same style as that screw guy did.' (Nejiscrew)

He quickly thought about everything he knew about the Byakugan- which was absolutely no help at all seeing as he knew absolutely nothing about it. The scrolls only mentioned the technique; it gave nothing useful about it besides the fact that the eyes allowed them to see the inner coil system. It provided nothing on how to counter it, how to use it against the user, nothing.

The Hyuuga family really did do a good job of keeping the secrecy of the Byakugan.

---

The boy was in deep thought for a moment. Then, finally, he looked ready to concentrate on the fight.

Neither of them looked like they were going to make the first move. They circled each other, always keeping themselves directly across from their opponent. Naruto was unwilling to strike a girl first and Hinata's technique depended on the opponent's first move.

Suddenly, they both moved toward each other at the same time, hands outstretched. Hinata's hand only made slight contact with Naruto's left hand but that slight tingle was enough to send waves of electric pain through his arm.

He sprang back, waving his hands like he was shaking off water. Hinata concentrated on his left hand with her Byakugan, and was surprised to see two different colored chakra in his hand and no where else in his body. Two-colored chakra was odd enough without the fact that the darker one had no source and looked as if it was sealed off in his left hand.

'She barely touched me and it hurts this much.' Naruto thought. 'Looks like close-combat is out. It's down to either Genjutu or Ninjutsu. I don't want to kill her with 'those' techniques. Can she see through an illusion with those eyes of hers? Wish I knew more about the Hyuuga.'

He readied himself for the desired technique, but not before thinking and berating himself for stupidly attempting conversation with the Kyuubi the night before.

Then he decided to stop yelling at himself. After all, he was in the middle of a fight and the Kyuubi had already given him a big enough lecture about talking to him the night before an important mission.

Or in the fox's words: "DUMBASS!"

---

The two fighters have not moved in the last few seconds. Both seemed to be contemplating their strategies after the first hit. It wasn't a question of whether Naruto would win or not, it was a question of how BADLY he was going to win. Maybe she was just overestimating his ability.

There were only two things keeping Naruto from instant victory. One was that he didn't know anything about the opponent. Temari knew that he had a fear of situations in which it seemed like he was winning, then being countered by an unknown technique. Naruto wasn't really good at thinking on his feet; usually he had to have a surefire strategy before he even thought of attacking. It was irrational, but it was there.

The second thing was that... Naruto just couldn't hit girls. Or rather, he hated seeing a girl cry. When he was younger, he got into a friendly match with a neighborhood girl and she had bawled when he hit her just a bit harder than he intended. Then he was lectured endlessly by the two older siblings about the wrongs of striking a female.

And so being adversely affected (traumatized, more like) at such a young age, he had deftly avoided any contact to the more sophisticated gender. Until now.

---

'Can't do that, might kill her.' Naruto thought. 'Baki-sensei, why'd you have to teach me all those forbidden stuff? KAZEKAGE-SAMA, WHY COULDN'T YOU HAVE A SCROLL THAT COVERED BASIC TECHNIQUES?'

He thought quickly about what kind of technique would work in this situation. He couldn't do his usual 'run-dash-hit-pressure- points-cause-pain-run-back' because he wasn't sure about the Hyuuga's defense against that and then there was his deathly fear of making a girl cry.

'Guess I'll try IT.' Naruto thought nervously.

---

'He's a deep thinker.' Hinata thought. 'His eyes moved to the lower left corner. He's thinking about how to beat me, but his bottom lip keeps jutting upward, indicating that there's a flaw in whatever tactic he wants to try.'

Personally, she thought that perhaps she should make a move, but she couldn't. If he suddenly came to life in the middle of her attack, she wouldn't be able to escape it unharmed. Her eyes weren't that good. Her only hope was to counter whatever he threw at her and wait until she could get near enough to fight with Jyuuken.

He didn't move, but chakra in his right hand began to fluctuate. She immediately focused on it as he slowly brought his right hand up so his palms were facing the ceiling. Chakra was collecting in his hands- wait. It was collecting outside of his hands.

Outside?

She focused her gaze on his outside body and was amazed to see chakra. Visible chakra enclosed in a small three-dimensional shape.

---

'No way,' Kakashi thought. 'That looks almost like the Rasengan. There's no way...'

Suddenly, it began to stretch and contort. It contracted for a few moments before finally reaching its desired shape; a long, thin sharp tipped collection of chakra extending from his palm. The chakra inside was swirling quickly but the state remained constant.

'That's not the Rasengan.' Kakashi thought. 'But it's close. How did he learn it?'

---

He grasped the base of it. For now, at least, it was steady. He had 'created' this jutsu when one day, he just expelled chakra and decided to mold it into the shape of a sphere. All he got was a mound that looked like it came straight out of a child's play-do set.

But then he found that he could stretch and shrink it into whatever shape he wanted. He had tried getting it into sphere shape, but then the chakra would just disperse and he would create a small gust of wind instead of a sphere.

'I have to hurry.' Naruto thought, 'I have to finish this up before my chakra runs out so I don't have to depend on the Kyuubi's.

He charged.

He swung the column of chakra around as if it were blade and aimed for the less sensitive areas of the body. She managed to dodge every swipe except one. That one brushed against her neck and when she had touched it, no matter how much it looked like an icy-blue icicle, it would burn.

'Her style of fighting is very interesting.' He thought. 'But there's a flaw in her movement. Her feet do not move unless her hands stop. So if I try...'

He aimed his next swipe near her right foot, enough to send her falling off balance, but not enough to catch her off guard. Immediately after falling backwards, she balanced herself on her hands and kicked up with her left foot.

To avoid that kick at such a close range, Naruto had to jump back and that action was enough time for Hinata to get back on her feet and back in position.

'She's good.' He thought grudgingly. 'She's very good. She made the fight for a while now. But I should probably end it soon. Damn. I just wanted to get her to surrender but now it looks like I have to fight quick and dirty.'

---

The spear or sword of chakra bent and broke in half. One half retracted back in his right hand and the other half was absorbed into his left one. On second thought, it wasn't absorbed. It simply surrounded his hand so there was a visible layer of chakra now on his left hand.

If she had time to comprehend what happened in the next few seconds, she would have noted that he disappeared. All she knew was that one-second, he was in front of her, and the next, she was lying on the ground. He was kneeling next to her, right hand wrapped around the base of her neck right above her collarbones and left hand raised, ready to strike.

"Stop the fight." Hayate said hurriedly. "The match is over. The winner, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto stopped his hand in mid-strike and stepped back, releasing her neck in the process. Hinata sat up and rubbed her neck. It left no mark, but she could still feel his hand. Naruto gave her one last glance before walking back up where the rest of the Sand ninjas were stationed.

Kakashi watched him as he walked up the stairs step by step. He was different from the scared little boy who ran away without looking back. He couldn't help but wonder what Naruto's life would be like if he had never left.

---

Hinata's team welcomed her back with relieved sighs. They were just glad she came back with minimal injuries. A few bruises around the neck were nothing compared to what she would have received if she fought someone like Neji. At least the Sand Nin wasn't aiming to kill her.

The minute he rejoined the others, his surrogate sister immediately greeted Naruto with two punches to either side of his head.

"What the- what's that for?" he asked indignantly.

"That was for fighting against a girl." She said. "And the other was for dragging the match out. It took you ten minutes to finish a fight- ridiculous"

Naruto sputtered something about how it wasn't his fault that he had to fight a girl and that matches take time before realizing that Temari would have just used another excuse to hit him on the head. She could never resist using the fact that he couldn't hit girls against him.

---

'I have to go next.' Sasuke thought. 'Or else I'll have to leave.'

Lee was having thoughts along the same lines. 'It would be so great if Sasuke-kun and I could go in the next round.' Lee thought, youth-power fires bursting in his eyes. 'Since I can't fight Neji, or the two from the sand, I have to fight Sasuke-kun. If what Neji says about destiny is true, please let the board choose the two of us.'

The two names on the scoreboard read: Uchiha Sasuke VS Tsuchi Kin

'Aw!' Lee thought sadly. 'I wanted revenge on that Sound guy then... I guess...'

---

Tsuchi Kin was that Sound girl they had encountered in the forest. She wasn't all that. If she could get caught Ino's Shintenshi no Jutsu, then she must be pretty... stupid.

'She attacks with needles.' Sasuke thought as another one whizzed by harmlessly. 'No problem. Haku gives me plenty of practice against them and her aim and strength are nothing compared to his. Plus, these eyes of mine can see them coming miles away.'

Kin gritted her teeth. He was having no trouble avoiding her needles and the fact that she had to keep moving to avoid getting hit by his constant barrage of fists meant she had to cut the strings on the bells, thus her technique was rendered useless.

Suddenly, Sasuke's hands began to form seals. Then she saw fire before she lost consciousness.

---

Hayate quickly called an end to the fight before calling for medic Nins. When Sasuke sat down, Naruto got a clear view of that mark on his neck.

'Orochimaru.' Naruto thought. There was no doubt about it. That was the mark he had seen on that man's subordinates. Already, he was having doubts about what this mission was about, but he wouldn't question it. It was too late to question it by now.

---

'That Naruto guy seems a lot closer to those two from that Sand team than he is to his own teammates.' Shikamaru thought. 'Something's wrong here. And why are they all different ages?'

"What are you mumbling to yourself about, Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

"I'm saying that you need to concentrate more on how you're going to win the next match." Shikamaru said. "You're the only one of all three of us who hasn't fought yet. And with the people left here, you're probably going to wind up in the hospital."

"Shows how much confidence YOU have in my abilities, Shi-ka-ma-ru." Ino replied, sticking her tongue out. But secretly, she was worried too.


	8. Completion

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 08 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 08: Completion**

All eyes were glued onto the scoreboard as it continuously flashed names. By now, there were only nine people left, meaning that there would only be four more matches and one person who was automatically advanced to the next level. Secretly, Lee thought that auto advancing would be more painful than death. Finally, it came to a stop on two names.

The Sand Village's Temari and the Leaf Village's Ten-Ten.

"YOUTH POWER, TEN-TEN!" Lee and Gai shouted in unison, successfully embarrassing the girl with twin buns.

'They don't ever change,' thought the two more conservative members of the year-old rookie team.

Lee glanced across to the other side of the room where the Sand team was. They weren't doing their part in cheering their teammate on. Jerks.

But Neji saw another thing. All three of the boys' eyes held the same thing. Assurance, confidence, and faith that their comrade would be the victor. If they were right, the match was already decided then.

---

The match began quickly. Ten-Ten tried throwing a few sharp weapons and missed for the first time in years. Temari had dodged it using the same taijutsu she used when she trained with her instructor. A slight movement so fast it would appear to be an illusion. No person her age had been able to see through that the first time she tried it on them. So what would a hot-blooded Leaf Genin kunoichi know?

Then Temari had revealed a purple Hoshi and told her that once three were present, she would lose.

So then Ten-Ten decided to use a technique involving two scrolls. And after taking a look at her teammate's faces, Temari had discerned that this must be her 'ultimate technique' or whatever. It didn't matter. If this girl was trying to win by throwing weapons, she would most definitely lose. Her fan was the best at countering projectiles after all.

And Ten-Ten did her technique, looking quite flashy while doing so. But in the end, Temari's wind-cutting blades prevailed, sending the Chinese ? Is there a China in here? girl's weapons falling to the ground uselessly and spearing the girl painfully onto the top of fan.

Temari then gave a smirk and tossed the girl aside, allowing her to be hurled straight into her dork-of-a teammate's arms. Then she said a snide comment of some kind and returned up the stairs where she was originally after she was declared the winner.

Naruto and Kankurou probably would have caught what she was saying if they weren't so busy making jokes about the fight below.

"Oh! Here, she'd say something like: 'I'm not going to lose because I'm a blond!' It's a war between blondes and brunettes!"

"Nah, you only hear stuff like that in the movies. Besides, that other girl's not a brunette. She has black hair."

"I thought we WERE making up movie lines! And her hair's kind of like a mix of black and brown."

"Her hair color doesn't matter. And we weren't making up MOVIE LINES. We were making DIALOGUE."

"What's the difference?"

"What's the difference between what?"

"AH! Hi Temari."

"What're you guys talking about?"

"Nothing."

"Anything important?"

"No."

"Were you paying attention to my match?"

"Yeah!"

"Good. Kankurou, you're next."

"Huh, Wha-?"

Kankurou glanced up and just as Temari said, his name was on the board along with another person, Inuzaka Kiba.

"Wonder who he is." Kankurou muttered aloud as he left for the downstairs. Hopefully, this match would be quick and easy. Why'd he have to go NOW though?

"Naruto, what were you guys talking about?"

"Uh..."

Suddenly, Kankurou was very happy that he was going next. After all, Temari would wring their necks for not paying attention to the brilliance of her fight.

---

Inuzaka Kiba was, as his name implied, a dog boy. He even had a little puppy with him.

'Interesting,' Kankurou thought as he laid Karasu down. 'Both have outside help.'

"We're going to defeat this pig-in-a-black-suit aren't we Akamaru?" His dog gave him an affirmative yelp.

'PIG... in a black suit? PIG!' Kankurou felt his blood pressure rising but he quickly squashed it down. It would do him no good to lose his cool and it would do him no good to be the only Sand who failed to pass.

"Match, begin."

"Yoshi! Akamaru!" He tossed the dog a small object affirmed as a soldier pill. The little white dog swallowed it and then the little white dog became a bigger red wolf-looking animal.

'Looks like Kiba wants to finish this match quickly.' Kurenai thought.

"Beast Effect Ninpou! Beast-human Bunshin!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru transformed into a human counterpart of his master. "Here it goes! Quadruped no Jutsu!" The two charged at Kankurou, cracking bits of flooring along the way.

Kankurou managed to dodge Akamaru easily, but failed to avoid Kiba. Kiba slammed into the Sand Nin, knocking him to the floor painfully.

"Second time, Akamaru!" Kiba shouted gleefully, but the affirmative bark never came. "Akamaru?"

The dog was, of all things, sleeping on the floor. Suddenly, a mechanical hand clamped down on his wrist.

"Well? Is it my turn?"

A hand stuck out of the mummified object his opponent had put on the floor moments earlier. It gave a slight tug and the bandages came loose revealing what was underneath. Kankurou.

"Dogs, especially pet dogs, are susceptible to any type of Genjutsu, especially sleep." Kankurou said, getting up from under the wraps. "And since you've been attacking the wrong thing..."

Kiba finally turned around to see what held his wrist prisoner and was shocked to find a mechanical eye staring into his. 'What the...'

Suddenly, even more arms wrapped around Kiba's body, arms, and neck. Then they began to squeeze.

"Forfeit." Kankurou said. "Unless you want to die."

'Shit.' Kiba thought as the mechanical arms tightened even more. 'I have to think of something or else-' "AH!" His wrist hand snapped.

"Stop the match." Hayate said quickly. "Winner, Kankurou."

---

"Kiba-kun... will he be okay?" Hinata asked.

"He's fine." Kurenai said. "His only his wrist is broken."

"The way he yelled someone would have thought he broke his nose or something." Shino grumbled.

"Shino." Kurenai reprimanded, to which Shino gave no response. He was, perhaps, a bit impatient although his features gave away no hints. There were only five people left and he was the only one on his team who hasn't gone. So he was dying with suspense even if it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world.

Why can't that thing just choose two names randomly instead of flashing it so fast like that? So annoy-

"Shino, you're up."

Well stuff him with bugs and call him a freak. He actually got chosen.

---

His opponent was a man named Tsugiri Misumi. He was the other person on Yoroi's team. If his abilities were the same as Yoroi, then it would be no problem. After all, his kekkai bugs consumed all his chakra. So even if Misumi tried to touch him, there would be nothing to drain.

"Match, begin."

Immediately, Misumi threw a few punches at him, which he avoided easily. But as soon as Misumi was within range, his body suddenly elasticized and he clamped onto Shino, arms wrapped around him and constricting quickly.

"Forfeit now, or I'll have to break your neck." Misumi said.

Suddenly, he felt an odd sensation. Like thousands of tiny little feet were crawling up his legs and slowly making their way up. He quickly released Shino and was horrified to discover that millions of bugs were making rapid progression toward his head.

"AGHH!" Misumi screamed a scream that raised the question of his masculinity, but then again, when was a scream ever masculine? Then he began 'dancing' around, attempting violently to shake off all the eight- legged intruders.

"You won't get them off that easily." Shino said as Misumi finally lost his balance and toppled to the floor. "Most of them have probably gone under your skin."

"ERGH!" Misumi wasn't sure if he could even muster out the words for forfeit. The bugs were draining his chakra faster than Yoroi ever could.

When Hayate finally had the sense to stop the match, the bugs crawled off Yoroi, leaving behind a terrifying sight. There were holes in the man's skin. Dozens and dozens spread over his arms and legs. The kekkai bugs had done a thorough job in cleaning out his chakra.

"Neji, can you see what's in that boy?" Gai asked.

Neji gave an affirmative nod and focused his Byakugan on him. What he saw gave him a start. "I can understand if he summoned them." Neji said. "But this... there are bugs living within him."

"What?" Lee asked incredulously.

'The Aburame clan.' Gai thought. 'This is their successor.'

---

Lee was tense. Very tense. This was the absolute last match in the Chuunin Preliminary exam. He just HAD to be in it. He HAD TO. By now, there was only him, the Sound guy, and Yamanaka Ino.

'I HAVE to be in this.' He thought. "I have to get revenge on him for embarrassing me in front of Sakura-san. If I don't make this,' he vowed, 'I'll slam my head against the wall 100 times. Then I'll run 500 times around Konoha.'

The next match was between Kinuta Dosu and Yamanaka Ino. It proceeded only after an incident in which they had to restrain a bowl-hair boy from smashing the wall with his head.

Dosu smirked confidently. This girl thought she could avoid his attacks using earplugs? She was WRONG!

Ino was kneeled on the floor holding her ears painfully. His attack had been unexpected and had completely destroyed what remained of her balance. Now she was kneeling on the floor but it didn't look feel like she was kneeling on the floor. It was like she was sideways on a wall or something. And not to mention what was going on with her eyes. Dosu looked like he had hundreds of clones behind him.

Suddenly, all of them dashed at her and in that split second, she finally saw the true Dosu, Then his palm came in contact with her chin and the force knocked her into the wall.

"Winner, Dosu."

---

Sandaime looked at the group of Genins before him this year. All of them were exceptional, and almost half of them were rookies. Very impressive. His gaze briefly passed over Uzumaki Naruto. The boy was standing in the back row and was having a conversation with another Genin Sand, the one with a gourd on his back.

He would have liked to ask the boy many questions. Why did you leave? What happened when you did? Where did you go? Who did you meet? But he found that he just couldn't. It was probably his negligence in enforcing the 'regard him as a hero' rule that prompted the boy to run away in the first place.

"I would now like to begin explaining the main test." He said aloud, purposely avoiding eye contact with the former Leaf, and he was almost certain that Naruto was looking past him for a reason. "It will take place in a month. During this month, Shinobi leaders need to be informed and gathered for the selection. Of course, you will also use this time to rest and improve your bodies."

'Get the business over with, ji-ji.' Kankurou thought impatiently. 'Old geezers are always long-winded.'

"I would like to dismiss you now," the Sandaime started.

'YES!'

"But there has to be something done before that."

'NO!'

"There are pieces of paper in the box Anko's holding." Sandaime said. "Please take one." Each of them drew a piece of paper as the box came around. Then they were asked to repeat the numbers on the paper.

"You have just drawn numbers for the match arrangements of the finals." He said.

"THAT'S WHAT WE DREW THEM FOR?" asked the group of leaf Genins (and Temari).

"The match-ups for the finals are:" Ibiki said, "Match one, Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji. Match two Kinuta Dosu and Rock Lee. Match three, Kankurou and Aburame Shino. Match four, Temari and Nara Shikamaru. Match five, Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke."

Then the Nara boy asked a question about the terms of passing the exams before they were (in Kankurou's words) FINALLY dismissed.

---

The four from the Sand banded together and took off quickly. "Kazekage-sama won't like it that your and Sasuke's match is last." Naruto muttered quietly to Gaara.

"I don't care about what he thinks." Gaara muttered back.

"Right. You only care about what I think."

If looks could kill, Naruto would be poisoned, burned, body parts ripped off by five raging horses in five directions, and buried twelve feet under.

Temari watched the blonde jest with her little brother. Uzumaki Naruto, supreme fool, king of the idiots, and the only person who ever jokes with Gaara on a daily basis. On second thought, he was the only person who jokes with Gaara. Period.

"Anyway," Naruto was saying, "I found this great spot in the forest. It's right next to a river so I'll be training there if anyone's looking for me."

"What for?" Temari asked. 'It's not like you need it...'

"Speed and endurance."

The three of them almost face-faulted. Naruto was the Sand's fastest Genin and he once ran around Sunagakure 50 times without breaking a sweat. If he had to train at all, he should be working on strength training, not speed or endurance.

"But first, let's get a little something to eat." Naruto said, "RA-"

"NO!" Temari yelled, clocking him smartly over the head with the butt of her fan. "UDON!"

"EWW! Fat noodles!"

"You've eaten nothing BUT ramen since you got here!"

"I haven't eaten ramen in the last five days!"

"Good! Get that stuff out of your system." Temari grabbed the neck of Naruto's shirt and began to drag him to the nearest udon stand while Kankurou and Gaara trailed behind.

In the end, they ended up eating at a chicken curry place, but eating a chicken curry place has little to do with this story so let's move on now, shall we?

---

It was a bright, early Saturday morning. The birds were singing happily and Konoha was just coming to life.

Temari hated it. The sun was too bright, the birds were too loud and the people were even louder than the damn birds. No, she's not a pessimist. She just loves her sleep and hates the mornings. She rolled over and wrapped the cocoon of blankets around her even tighter. Kankurou and Naruto both insisted that the air-conditioning be on full blast. Mainly because at home, they never got a chance to be good and cold.

As she rolled over, she came face to face with a note. It read:

'Training. Be back at around five. -Naruto. PS: I won't eat Ramen for lunch if that's what you're worried about T.'

Temari gave a little laugh and ran her fingers through her hair. How predictable.

---

The 'spot' Naruto found was indeed an ideal training spot. The river extended beyond what the eye could see and wasn't very deep. He could just run up and down on the water all day. Chakra control, speed, and endurance all in one. He was about to start when he sensed someone watching him. He hurled a kunai in the general direction of the someone.

"Don't get so mad, Naruto-san." It was Kurosaki.

"Aren't you suppose to 'regroup'? What're you doing here?"

"Kazekage-sama has new orders for you." Kurosaki said, tossing the kunai he threw at her back to him, this time with a slip of paper attached.

"Should I inform everyone else?" Naruto asked.

"I said he had new orders for YOU." She replied, getting up to leave. "I didn't say it was for anyone else."

Naruto frowned as the Sand Nin disappeared into the trees. That was odd.

He glanced at the piece of paper. There were only three simple words on it.

"Summon a Kyuubi."


	9. Condition for Usage

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 09 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 09: Conditions for Usage**

After reading that note, Naruto came to two conclusions. Either Kazekage- sama lost his mind, or Kurosaki was playing a joke on him. He settled on the first one. It was probably more likely that the snake-man from the Sound poisoned his mind. In fact, it was the snake-man that orchestrated the entire attack.

It was almost as if Kazekage-sama was just a puppet.

No. He was not that stupid. Kazekage-sama could be deluded by his ambitions, but he was no fool.

At least, that was what Naruto thought.

---

"You know," Kankurou said, "If you'd only taken the Chuunin exams last year, you would have made it with no problem. Now, it's too late."

"It's not like that." Temari responded. "It's...not."

Secretly, she had been surprised and a bit disappointed when she heard of the Konoha invasion. For one thing, she had nothing against this village. Another was that as much as she didn't want to admit it, she wanted to be a Chuunin. If only it had been a year later...

---

Naruto wracked his head for a way to summon a nine-tailed fox. The logical thing would be, naturally, to ask the Kyuubi. But the last time he asked the Kyuubi to help him learn a summoning, the Kyuubi had told him to figure it out himself. Then he had to wait for a week while his pinky twitched uncontrollably before the Kyuubi would tell him anything.

So after a few hours of thinking while running up and down the river, he finally came to the conclusion that he couldn't summon a youma without extra help. Summoning a demon was a Dark Art, and any sort of dark art in the shinobi world had to be developed or learned directly.

'Oy, baka kitsune. Wake up.'

'What do ye want, ye stupid brat?'

'I need to learn how to summon a nine-tails.'

'... Don't screw with me ye little runt.' Kyuubi growled.

'I'm not. I have to learn it in a month.'

'Whatever the hell for, gaki?'

'Chuunin selection exam. And don't call me that.'

'Where in the rulebook does it say ye need to know how to summon a demon for a CHUUNIN exam, baka?'

'Kazekage-sama wants me to learn it so I can use it then.'

'Damn, baka. This is going to take a freaking long time just for ye to learn the damn rules.'

'There are rules for summoning demons?'

'Go back to that pile of crap ye call a hotel, get a good night sleep, and I'll start teaching ye tomorrow.'

'Right.'

'That means no more training for the rest of the day.'

'WHAT!'

---

"Why aren't you training?" Temari asked, surprised as Naruto burst in through the door. "Didn't you say you'd be back around five?"

"Kazekage-sama wants me to learn how to summon a nine-tailed demon fox." Naruto said. "Kyuubi said he'd teach me starting tomorrow, but that means I can't train for the rest of today."

The two of them nearly choked on their coconut flavored shredded ice.

"Summon a Kyuubi?" Temari asked. "Why?"

Naruto shrugged. "To help with the attack is my best guess." He said honestly. He never thought to question why the Kazekage suddenly wanted him to learn how to summon Kyuubi. It wasn't his job to question orders.

"Does Baki know?" Kankurou asked, just as Baki walked in the room.

"Do I know what?"

"Kazekage-sama wants me to learn how to summon a Kyuubi youma in time for the attack." Naruto said.

Baki was a bit surprised at the Kazekage's request. He hadn't known about it beforehand. Why did he suddenly want Naruto to learn how to summon a -

'Kazekage-sama, you are a cruel man.' Baki thought. 'You truly hate the Leaf's Sandaime Hokage with a passion, do you not? Using that kind of emotional attack...'

"Baki-sensei," Naruto was saying, "Why do you think Kazekage-sama wants me to learn that?"

"Baka." Baki said. "Think about it. It's all meant to inflict pain of the Hokage. During the attack, the two of them will be isolated from the rest of the fighting. The Sandaime Hokage would be unable to help as the Leaf Nins fight the Kyuubi you supposedly summoned, just as he was unable to help with the Kyuubi youma from thirteen years before. And being that YOU were the one who summoned it would cause even more grief because he was unable to protect you from the villagers eight years ago."

Naruto averted his gaze to the window. He had long since learned the difference between Hunter Nins and ANBU. But still, he never gave the Sandaime Hokage another thought until now.

Baki watched his student closely. Even after monitoring him all these years, his student was still an enigma to him. Naruto was by no means violent nor was he bloodthirsty by nature. He tended to get a little of both when he was on a mission, but was otherwise pretty mellow. In fact, often, he was mellow to the point that called for some worry. But he always recovered from those phases fairly quickly.

"Hey Temari, look." Naruto said suddenly. "Your opponent is going to that BBQ place again with the rest of his team."

"Nara?" Temari asked, coming over to the window and taking a look out. Suddenly, a question dawned on her. "Naruto, do you know Nara?"

Naruto was quiet for a moment. "We used to be skipping buddies." He finally said. "Me, him, the fat guy, and dog boy. I'm pretty sure he doesn't remember though." He added quickly.

It might have been her imagination, but it seemed like whenever Naruto talked about his past, he always got a nostalgic look in his eyes.

It must have been her imagination. Naruto has never once voiced any warm feeling toward the Leaf village. And he wouldn't start now, especially in the middle of such an important mission.

---

'Oy, start teaching.' Naruto said to the fox, ignoring the 'stupid annoying baka' comments that issued naturally from the fox's potty mouth.

'All right, first thing ye have to know is that when ye summon a youma of any kind, it's permanent. That is to say, they won't leave for any reason unless they die. The contract between the summoner and summoned is binding. So don't practice summoning just for the hell of it.'

'Then how were you summoned?'

The fox emitted a sound that was a cross between a snort and a laugh, for short, a snaff. 'The jackass who summoned me couldn't control me. That's another thing, don't summon things that ye can't control. That's not a demonstration of power, that's just stupid. A Kyuubi is one of the most bloodthirsty youma tribes around. Ye lose control of them and they'll go wild, just like I did thirteen years ago.'

'Hmm.' Naruto thought, 'never thought there could be rules for summoning demons.'

'Well there are, so shut up.' He said before continuing. 'Ye can't practice how to summon so just keep this in mind. To summon one, switch the first and second, third and last seals on the regular kitsune summon. Oh, and use my chakra while summoning.

'What? Why?'

'Ye want to go out in the middle of a night to pick lichen grass at the height of the full moon?'

'No.'

'Ye want to find a moonstone and carve it in shape of a fox?'

'No.'

'Ye want to collect toenails of a rabbit that's been dead for exactly 99 hours?'

'NO!'

'Good. Then do what I say and use my chakra to summon. It's like one Kyuubi calling out to another. That'd how it works.'

'Oh, I see. But what's with the lichen grass stuff?'

'Summoning a demon ain't easy, kuzo.'

'So... I can't practice summoning?'

'No.'

Naruto sighed. 'I guess its back to training for me.' He stood up and immediately sat back down again. His left leg felt like the feeling left behind after your foot goes numb. It'd probably stick around for a while too. He tried wiggling his toes. Good, at least he still had feeling there. Judging by that fact, it'd probably take him only overnight to heal up.

---

It would have been a dark desolate night had there not been a big bright full moon lighting the streets of the village. There were very few people still awake at this hour of the night. Gaara was one of them. He was always one of them. The Shukaku within him never allowed more than a few seconds of slumber.

Why was it that Naruto, whose demon's strength was ten times stronger, allowed the joy of sleep? Why could Naruto talk to his demon at will, while he was stuck with the loud and shrill voice of Shukaku? Why was Naruto so lucky? What's so special about NARUTO'S seal? Why...

Shukaku stirred.

Gaara closed his eyes, careful not to go to sleep. No. He would not be jealous. Naruto was his friend, his best friend. He was the only person who ever understood him. No, he would not be-

"You sure got me... do you not sleep?"

Gaara opened his eyes, then turned his glare upon the intruder. It was one of the shinobi from Otogakura (is that right?). The man made some comment about wanting to fight Sasuke-kun.

Gaara resisted the urge to give a sardonic laugh right there. The only person who would fight the Uchiha would be him, only him. He would be the last person Uchiha Sasuke ever fought, because he would destroy him. That Oto Nin, Kinuta Dosu. He's a fool.

He motionlessly uncorked his gourd, allowing sand to come out small bits at a time. The Sound Nin doesn't notice, and only comes closer. Stupid fool.

"He gets excited during a full moon." Gaara finally says aloud, surprising the Sound Nin. Moments later, the roof would be scarred with three slashes. In the middle of those three wounds was the body of Kinuta Dosu, the one who foolishly challenged Gaara of the Sand.

---

"You killed a Leaf jounin? Screw that, you killed the THIRD EXAMINER?"

"It was unavoidable." Baki said to his fuming student. "He overheard the conversation between Kabuto and me."

"That's why you usually don't talk about top secret war plans in the middle of the night in the middle of a place where anyone can overheard you."

Baki shot Naruto a glare that promptly put him back in his place. "How's the summoning coming along?" he asked.

"It's coming along okay." Naruto replied. "The Kyuubi says I can't practice it though, because if I do, then whatever I summon won't go away."

Baki nodded. It made sense, summoning between regular animals and youmas were bound to have differences. "What's the success percent rate?"

"... About 75, I'd say."

"Only?" Baki sighed. Guess it couldn't be a hundred percent success if Naruto couldn't even practice. "Either way, even if you do manage to summon one, you'd still need to fight with us. We have 29 days left. Make use of them."

"Yes sir."

---

Temari wiggled out of the thick blankets expecting to find an empty space beside her. She was correct. Kankurou was snoring away like a pig and there was a neatly tied bedroll in the corner.

She stuck her head out the window and took a deep breath. As much as she loved the Sand Village, she had to admit that the air was much better in Konoha. Here, you could inhale without getting your air passage clogged with sand.

She saw the village come to life. The streets were empty, then slowly filled with its residents. This place was too peaceful. It was unaccustomed to war. It had forgotten about it's violent past. Because of that, Kazekage, no, her father wanted to destroy that peace.

In one month, this village that was so peaceful and prosperous would be nothing more than a smoldering ruin. She wasn't sure how she felt about having that knowledge.

---

Naruto ran around Konoha for the fourteenth time that day. It wasn't very easy. Konoha was much bigger than Sunagakure. It was relatively easy the first ten times, but afterwards...

He glanced at his watch. It was noon on the dot. He'd stop for lunch in an hour.

Naruto's training method was very simple. He didn't use weights or anything relative to weights. He trained for stamina, though he had more than enough, and in battle, stamina would make up for whatever speed he desired. It was training unique to him, because normal people would not be able to substitute speed for stamina.

Thank the Kyuubi for yet another advantage.

He finally stopped after the twentieth lap and went back in the village. Temari wasn't here so he could devour all the ramen he wanted. And there was a little place he remembered that used to serve excellent ramen when he was still living in Konoha. He didn't know the name of the place, but he remembered where the place was.

"Ohayo." He called out as he lifted the flaps and entered the shop. It was still here after all, Ichiraku ramen.

The owner, Ichiraku, had not changed either. He and his daughter were still the cooks for the place. Ichiraku turned around and greeted Naruto after a split second pause.

"What'll it be?" The man asked.

Naruto scratched his head. "The works, Oji-san." It might have been his imagination, but he saw Ichiraku's eyes wander down to his headband, which was tied around his arm. "Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"No, nothing." Ichiraku responded, busying himself with the pot. "You just remind me of someone."

Naruto nodded. At least he doesn't know exactly who he was.

"So where you from?" Ichiraku asked. The stand was empty except for the two of them. It was half past two by now and for most people, lunch hour was over.

"I'm from Sunagakure." Naruto replied. "Chuunin selection exam."

"From the sand village, eh? How's life there?"

It was then that Naruto remembered how easy it was to talk to Ichiraku. When he was younger, Ichiraku was his only joy because the owner wasn't a shinobi, and therefore didn't know about him being the damned Kyuubi.

As he walked away from the ramen stand, for the first time since the mission began, Naruto felt guilty.


	10. More Training

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 10 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 10: More Training**

The next week was relatively uneventful. Naruto trained. Temari and Kankurou moped around in the hotel room. And Gaara was off doing... Well, no one knew what he was doing. They assumed that he had locked himself in his hotel room and left it at that.

It was quite a surprise one day when Baki rushed in their room and began berating them- Gaara wasn't in his room after all.

---

"Your opponent fights using Sand as a weapon." Kakashi was saying. "You've already seen his attack. But since you don't know how far the sand goes to protect him, you're going to have to be cautious."

Sasuke panted. Kakashi was trying to teach him a technique called the Chidori, trying being the keyword. It was amazingly hard. Mainly because his chakra control wasn't all that. It was probably the worst out of his teammates. Not that he would ever admit it though, no.

Kakashi sighed. Sasuke never did try very hard at the tree climbing exercises when they were in the Mist village. He had no reason to. Up until Haku joined the team, Sasuke was never motivated to do anything to perfection. He would try once and leave it at that. If only Sasuke had a rival of some sort, someone to provoke him and make him work harder...

"I've already heard all I need to know about Gaara." Sasuke snapped irritably as the flare in his hand fizzled and died. "Tell me more about my other opponents."

Kakashi raised his sole eyebrow. "Judging by your tone, you have someone in mind."

Sasuke glared at him, as if asking him 'Do you even need to ask?'

"Uzumaki Naruto? Why would you be curious about him? You saw his fight."

"It's not that." Sasuke took a deep breath and began focusing chakra in his hand again. "I've heard of that name somewhere. I don't know where but I heard it before. And you know a hell lot more than you're telling us. So spill it, damn it."

Kakashi sighed again. This is not the time or the place to be asking this question. And maybe Sasuke shouldn't be told at all. But oh well, to hell with it.

"Uzumaki Naruto used to be one of Konohagakure."

The electric sizzle that Sasuke had finally managed to hold disappeared as quickly as it came. "What?"

"Uzumaki Naruto used to live in Konoha." Kakashi repeated. "One day, eight years ago, he ran away from the village for reasons unknown. I would know. I'm one of the ANBU members assigned to retrieve him."

Sasuke stiffened. He remembered that day. It had been Itachi's first mission as an ANBU and it was a failure. His father had rebuked his brother about it. Something about shame toward the Uchiha name. It was the first time Sasuke saw Itachi's eyes darken.

But that wasn't it. There was something else about the blonde haired blue eyed boy from the Sand that he couldn't put his finger on. There had been another incident, one that he couldn't remember. What was it? What happened-

"You can come out now. Your killing intent gives you away."

Sasuke looked up, startled. It was his opponent, the other person from the Sand, Sabaku no Gaara.

Gaara gave Sasuke a brief look before abruptly turning his head and walking away.

'He doesn't seem very strong.' Gaara thought. 'I was hoping he'd be more of a challenge. Kazekage had had high expectations. Gaara smirked. Boy was he going to be disappointed.

"I don't know why you're here." The silver-haired man said to him. "But if you're trying to start something before the finals..."

Gaara stopped his walk away. He turned around and glared at the Uchiha boy. "I will kill you."

---

Naruto stared at the swirl of chakra in his hand. This time it had the distinct shape of... a blob. He sighed. No matter what he did, he couldn't shape it into a definite shape. Expelling chakra was no problem at all; molding it was the problem. His supposed 'spear' was nothing more than a line of chakra. That kind of expulsion was easy for anyone who has even a little speck of chakra control. But molding it into a shape WHILE expelling large amounts of it was another story altogether.

But this was his best technique. It didn't need any seals, just chakra. And since he always had trouble remembering the order of seals, this was his kind of jutsu. Now if only he could learn how to control it.

Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound above him. He snapped his head up. There was an old man crouching on the tree branch above him and he was staring at the swirl in his hand.

"Hey, boy," the man said, "Mold that into a ball and see what you get." With that, he bounced away. And I do mean bounce.

Naruto blinked. What a weird man. He wasn't even wearing an actual headband. Who wears one with the kanji 'Oil' on it?

---

He shrugged. Why not? He didn't know why he would just listen to a weird old man who evidently needed a comb. And a haircut. And a washcloth wouldn't hurt either...

But anyway, it wouldn't hurt to be able to mold it into a sphere. It would probably be beneficial. After all, a sphere would probably be harder to shape than anything else. So logically, if he could do that, then he could do anything.

'Alright, sphere it is...'

Three hours later, the door to the hotel room slid open and a puddle of flesh, bones, and blonde hair fell to the floor unceremoniously.

"Naruto?"

"What happened to you?"

'I was a stupid idiot. I used up too much chakra. It was an ass trying to get back here. I hate old men. My hair hurts. I'm not sure how dead head cells can hurt but they sure as hell do. I hurt.'

All that came out was "Ugh."

---

"Hands... burn... ouch..."

Baki resisted the childish urge to box Naruto's ears. "Enlighten me," he said, "Since when did you start taking advice from a strange old man who happens to be a stranger?"

"Uh. He gave pretty good advice." Naruto replied, realizing just how incredibly lame he sounded.

His teacher then had to resist another urge, this one to roll his eyes. And HE was the one who taught this brat.

"So what he say?"

"He told me to try and make it into a sphere."

"Oh? Why sphere?"

Naruto shrugged, then winced. "I just assumed that if I could turn it into a ball, it'd be easy doing anything else."

Baki nodded. A sphere's supposedly the hardest to mold because of its shape. Since it had no corners, in order to retain the shape, the chakra would have to have to spin at an almost uncontrollable rate. And there would have to be enough power to control too. Maybe that old man was smarter than they gave him credit for.

---

It took a grand total of three days for Naruto to give up. After another two nights restless sleep, he chucked the idea out the window. Screw it. He had more important things to do than just sit around trying to make a chakra-ball because some guy said to "try it".

That day, he took out one of the scrolls he had allegedly 'borrowed' from the Kazekage's library. Hey, Kazekage-sama's too busy being a Kazekage to notice that one scroll is missing out of the hundreds of scrolls he had in his library.

The first one listed said:

"- Asshou- A Taijutsu technique where the ninja drives their fist into their opponent while they are on the ground, crushing them and grinding them into the earth. With impressive strength, this technique could be quite devastating."

'That could be really useful.' Naruto thought gleefully, happy that he swiped this one instead of the other one with black wrapping. Taijutsu had always been his favorite type of fighting.

'Let's go.' He thought, cracking his knuckles. This would take a lot of trees. Hope the Fire Country won't blame him for making a small part of their forest disappear.

---

"HAH!"

The tree trunk burst open, bark flying in all direction. Naruto grinned, almost maniacally. He did it. A record time of five days, too. Actually, more like four days. But he spent another day unnecessarily 'perfecting' it.

He looked around him carefully. Since he's began, he's decimated about... 45 trees. Crap. 'Have to find a new training spot tomorrow.' He thought, running back towards the village. 'Hope they don't suspect me.'

As he headed back to the hotel, he drew out the scroll. 'There's got to be another technique in here that can occupy me for the next fifteen days.' He thought. 'Ninjutsu, ninjutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, ninjutu, fuuin... No more taijutsu?'

He sighed. The only taijutsu techniques remaining required Temari's fan. 'Maybe I can get Baki-sensei to teach me something.'

Suddenly, something caught his eye.

"- Houshou- A Taijutsu technique where the ninja palm strikes their enemy, hurling them away. With impressive strength, this technique could be quite devastating."

'What? That's not even a technique.' Naruto thought. Then he shrugged. 'Oh well, if it's listed, then it's good.'

---

Houshou actually took less time that Asshou. Which was expected because it wasn't much of a move. Naruto sighed. Personally, he hated anything with seals because he's always had trouble remembering the seals unless it was something important, like summoning.

He took out the other scroll, hoping there was something worth learning. He was lucky.

"- Kanashibari no Jutsu- A Ninjutsu technique where the ninja stares down their opponent, causing them to become completely frozen in their tracks. Perfect for escaping a dire situation, or for stalling a target in an assassination."

'ANBU technique.' Naruto grinned. 'This could be really useful.'

---

It was the night before the Finals, the night before the invasion. The four Sand Nins were lounging around in the hotel room. That night, Naruto had convinced Gaara to stay and chat in the same room as them before he went out moon gazing. And Gaara had agreed.

"You didn't master Kanashibari no Jutsu, Naruto?" Temari asked.

Naruto shook his head. "It's really hard. It usually helps if you have special eye bloodlines. And besides that, you need a target. And if you do it wrong, you can lose your eyesight. So I think I'll just stick with the other jutsus I already have." He turned around to address Gaara, "Hey, don' lose your head tomorrow."

Gaara gave him a look that would have effectively turned anyone into stone. "Nani ka."

"I know you." Naruto said. "You change into another person when you get into a really heated fight. And I know you've been 'monitoring' the Uchiha and I know you know he's gotten a lot stronger. So... don't lose it. That's all I'm asking."

Gaara wordlessly got up. He didn't bother asking just HOW Naruto knew these things. He walked toward the window and opened it. Just before he left, he heard Naruto call after him, "That means not transforming before the signal."

---

Neji tied a new layer of replacement bandages around his arms. Tomorrow, he would fight Uzumaki Naruto, the Nin from the Sand. From what he had seen, the Sand team had wiped the floor with their opponents in the preliminaries.

'Every person in this world is born with an inescapable destiny.' He thought, repeating the 'mantra' again in his head. 'If I am meant to win, then so be it.'

---

'Yes, yes, YES! I will win the first match tomorrow, and then I'll fight either Uzumaki-kun from the Sand or Neji. And with my trump card, I cannot lose to either of them. YOSHI! I will WIN!'

---

"How do you guys think you'll do in your matches tomorrow?" Naruto asked. "Kankurou, you'd probably have to forfeit if the signal's not given before your match, right?"

"Yea." Kankurou grumbled.

"So, Temari-san. How do you think you'll do?"

"I'm fighting a guy who's gone to the BBQ almost every single day for a month. I think I'll be fine."

"Whatever you say." Naruto chuckled. "I don't know though. From what I remember, Shikamaru was a lazy bum, but he's pretty smart."

"Smart?"

"Yea. Whenever we skip school, he always knows what place the teachers WON'T look when they're looking for us. I merit that as 'smart'."

Temari snorted. That didn't sound like a very good reason for calling someone smart.

"All I'm saying is be careful, alright?" Then Naruto rolled over and unfurled his sleeping bag. "I'm going to sleep. We got a big day tomorrow. And we better get some rest, aite?"

The two others nodded, and within minutes, the lights were out and the room was silent.


	11. Start of the Finals

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 11 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 11: Start of the Finals**

It was almost time for the Finals to start. The only question was…

"Where is everybody?"

Lee was looking around, almost desperately. Everyone was here except for Sasuke and HIS opponent. This could not be happening. He had trained for the last month and now Dosu wasn't here. What's with that?

"Listen up everyone."

The new examiner was a middle-aged man with something sticking out of his mouth. Gekkou Hayate had looked sickly. This guy just looked annoyed.

"I'm Shiranui Genma, your new examiner." He said with an almost bored tone of voice, "The other one isn't available right now."

'I'll bet.' Naruto thought.

"There are some new arrangements for the Finals." Genma continued, holding up a piece of paper. "Please take a look at the chart and confirm your new matches."

The chart read that Naruto and Neji would go first, followed by Haku and Lee, then Kankurou and Shino, then Temari and Shikamaru, and lastly, Sasuke and Gaara.

Upon seeing this turn of events, Lee's brows rose several a few inches. Where was Dosu? He wanted to get revenge. But… he glanced at his new opponent, Haku. From what he heard, this boy was a former Mist Nin and had transferred over to the Leaf after a mission involving Team 7. He had seen his speed and knew that there was much more power in him. Suddenly, he didn't care about Dosu quite as much as he did.

Naruto looked around. Where was Sasuke? He knew that Gaara and Sasuke's match would be highly anticipated. Of course, the wait for his match was no less intense, but the difference was that their match was first and both of them were here. He glanced over at Gaara, who was shaking slightly, eyes wide open and slightly glazed over.

If Naruto knew Gaara as well as he thought he did, then Gaara was -talking- to his mother. 'He better not release Shukaku before the signal.' Naruto thought.

They waited for another five minutes before Genma was finally given the signal to begin the first match.

"Will everyone clear the field so the first match can begin?" Genma said, somehow making his question sound like a statement.

As the Genins cleared the field, a loud cheer erupted from the crowd.

---

Sakura and Ino looked around as the roar surrounding them suddenly rose in several volumes. Most of the people sitting around them were Sand Nins and Leaf Nins. It sounded like they have been waiting for this match for a long time.

Sakura distinctly heard a voice next to her say something about the 'Hyuuga and the demon'. Demon?

"Did you hear that?" she asked Ino, not bothering to lower her voice since no one could hear them anyway.

"Hear what?"

"Someone said… never mind. Where's Sasuke-kun? It's about to begin!"

---

Hyuuga Hiashi was one among the spectators and also noticed the sudden, almost happy, yells coming from the Sand Nins who were sitting around him. He glanced at the two Genins who were about to begin. One was his nephew. The other… was a Sand Nin. There was something special about that boy. He radiated power.

He didn't voice it because his daughter, his only daughter, Hanabi was sitting next to him and he wasn't about to say anything positive about a person from another village while Hanabi was still at such an early stage of her development as a shinobi.

No. Not as a shinobi, as a Hyuuga of the Main family.

---

Neji looked at his opponent up and down, trying to find out as much as he could without the use of his Byakugan. The only other color on Naruto besides black was orange- an orange trenchcoat on black shirt, unevenly cuffed pants, and sandals. His hitaite was tied around his neck and there were bandages wrapped around what skin was showing on his right leg.

And from this he could conclude… nothing.

His eyes betrayed nothing. Neji could feel no contempt, anger, superiority, or nervousness from him. This was odd. Even himself, easily the calmest of all Konoha Genin, was feeling a bit excited at such a high adrenaline pumped battle with a crowd and everything that came with it. But he looked like a picture of serenity.

What kind of shinobi did the Sand produce?

---

"Begin the match." Genma said, jumping out of the way.

The fight began quickly. The two on the field dove at each other without hesitation, each landing a test hit, then jumping back, each evaluating the other's strength quickly through that one hit.

Neji had felt power. Naruto was strong in terms of raw strength, but that one hit wasn't enough to decide his overall ability. It would take a few more hits to determine how he was to defeat this Sand shinobi.

Naruto, on the other hand, already figured out Neji's fighting style. Even before Neji's punch connected, Naruto felt pain. He then concluded that in order to have received pain before actual contact, Neji must have expelled chakra from his hands, just like Hinata. The only difference was that Hinata was hitting randomly. Neji seemed to have some sort of pattern. He was hitting areas near Naruto's pressure points.

Besides that, there was something wrong with the area where he was hit. The chakra didn't feel right. Naruto knew his own system well enough so that if something went wrong, he would be aware of it. His conclusion was that Neji was somehow manipulating his chakra flow by expelling his own into Naruto's body. All that through one hit too.

Now that he knew what was happening, he had to find some way to counter it. He wasn't too worried about missing The Signal since it was unlikely that they would move so quickly. Kazekage-sama was especially interested in Uchiha Sasuke, so they would probably see the fight between them him and Gaara before the signal was given.

Neji came at him again, this time even quicker. His speed was very impressive, seeing how he didn't have any inner demonic enhancements. Naruto was able to dodge each hit, but just barely. Looks like Konoha DID have some extraordinary ninjas.

'Shit,' Naruto thought, 'I have to think of a way. He's too fast for me to go with the usual hit-and-run. And those eyes of his, I don't know the full extent of their capability. Bad…'

He thought back to a scroll he had read up on around two months before. It was one on different Genjutsus of the Leaf. There was one in particular that caught his eye. Kokuangyo no Jutsu, otherwise known as the Bringer of Darkness technique. It was a skill unique to the Shodaime of the Leaf village.

He had tried to mastering it, and though it was far from perfect, it would have to suffice for now. He clasped his hands together, molding chakra while still avoiding Neji's attacks and then he formed seals as quickly as he could and said "Kokuangyo no Jutsu."

---

To the bystanders, it looked like someone had turned off a light in the stadium. One second, the two were having an impressive match, the next, it was just dark. This earned some boos from the audience, but for the more advanced shinobi, this was a surprise.

'This technique…' Sandaime thought, 'belongs to Shodaime-sama. How did…'

'Kazekage-sama' was also wearing a somewhat surprised expression. He had heard that Uzumaki Naruto was a strong shinobi. But he had not expected him to use a Kage-level genjutsu.

Meanwhile, in the arena, Naruto had created a Kage bunshin and was charging at Neji. Neji, even with his amazing eyes, could only see two powerhouse of…power charging at him, full speed. He was certain that he could dodge the first few hits but what would happen if he left an opening?

'Damn.' He thought. 'How did I switch from offense to defense so quickly?'

---

Naruto knew he was being reckless. It was characteristic of him to lose his head if he couldn't finish a battle off quickly. This match was already dragging out longer than it should have.

He and his clone were both trying their best to try and damage Neji, but were landing minimal amounts with minimal damage. This was bad, both jutsus were chakra consuming and he needed all the chakra he could get. He didn't want to rely on the Kyuubi's because he needed that for the invasion while having some of his own in stock.

'Shit.' He thought as Neji finally dispersed his Kage bunshin. 'Looks like his eyes can see the chakra. This jutsu is useless. If only I could do it perfectly, he wouldn't be able to see anything.' He sighed as he released the illusion, cursing himself on his talent in the field of Genjutsu.

---

Neji was surprised when the darkness became light again. Secretly, he was relieved. He would have been a goner if he didn't have the Byakugan. He could not lose. The Hyuuga destiny forbade defeat.

His chakra was about half-gone. He had to think of SOMETHING that would turn the match around, but it looked like Uzumaki Naruto had more chakra in reserve than he did. The Byakugan was also constantly leeching off what remained of his stamina, but he couldn't afford to turn it off.

"Na."

Neji looked up. This was the first thing Naruto had said the entire time. "What."

"Why do you think you're going to win?"

Neji was a bit taken aback. Usually, you don't ask questions concerning victory while fighting an opponent in a setting that concerned crowds and a stadium. He narrowed his eyes. What was Uzumaki Naruto trying to pull?

"Destiny." He said. "Destiny will decide who wins. And destiny is always on the Hyuuga side."

---

Naruto waited for more, but there was nothing else. Destiny? What kind of destiny did he have? He sighed. Then, he gave a little snort that turned into a little chuckle, which eventually became a laugh.

Neji glared at him. "What?"

Naruto's laughter rang for a few moments more before he settled down. He didn't know why he found that answer funny. It just struck something in him.

"Destiny?" he asked. "That's your reason for fighting?" He 'ha-ha-ed' a few more times before unexpectedly sobering up. "You actually believe in that load of crap?"

Neji bristled. "Each person is born with an unchangeable destiny." He started, unwittingly spouting all the Hyuuga talk he had been taught continuously throughout his entire life. "A genius will always be a genius. A failure will always be a failure. A Konoha shinobi will always be a Konoha shinobi."

At this last statement, Naruto burst into another bout of uncontrollable laughter. How coincidental that Neji would mention that last one. Originally, he had asked that question so he could buy some time and recover some chakra. Now…

"Tell me, Hyuuga-san." Naruto said, "What does your destiny say about a traveler with no intention of returning home?" Then, without waiting for an answer, he disappeared and Neji felt indescribable pain right beneath his collarbone. Just before he lost consciousness, he heard a voice say:

"Just so you know, I used to live in Konoha."

---

His method of victory was incredibly cheap. First off, the opponent was off guard. Second, he wasn't supposed to risk everything on one move like that. It was a combination of Asshou and Hasshou. Slamming the heel of your palm against your opponent to knock him upward, then a second hit that would smash them into the ground.

And it also took a ridiculously large amount of chakra to reach the speed he needed to avoid any possible counter attack.

Oh well. The most important thing was that he won and would probably have enough time to recover from whatever chakra he unnecessarily wasted.

---

"What was that?"

Ino, apparently, unlike the rest of the spectators, hasn't caught on to what just happened. The Sand Nin's speed was… inhuman. There was no earthly way that he could have moved that way. They could see the blur, but that only served to make it even more unbelievable.

Sakura, on the other hand, was pondering just what did he do, exactly. She had clearly seen two hits, and only two hits. It should take a whole lot more to knock someone out unless the attacker was just that strong.

'He's not a Genin.' She thought. That she was sure of. There was no way on earth Naruto could be a Genin.

---

Lee was amazed. It was the first time he had seen Neji lose in terms of speed. Simply amazing.

'Uzumaki Naruto.' He thought. 'I want to fight you.'


	12. The Genius and the Loser

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 12 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 12: The Genius and the Loser**

The Sandaime Hokage watched the boy make his way off the field. During the entire month, he was thinking on how to approach the boy, how to send for him so they could have a talk and clear up whatever happened eight years ago. Ever since the ANBU came back empty-handed, he had wondered whatever happened to Uzumaki Naruto.

He sent out messengers to every country, from the Stone Village to the Sand Village to the Mist Village. None of them were conclusive. Now he knew the Sand had been the ones who had been 'taking care' of him, but by now it was too late to demand for his return. He was officially registered as a Sand Nin and there would be no changing that. He could also never figure out why Kazekage would lie about not having Naruto in custody...

Eight years ago, they had searched his apartment for some kind of clue and they couldn't find any. The only thing sure thing was that that night, Naruto was in bed, then got up, went straight out the door, walked down the streets to Ichiraku, then vanished. How did he vanish? No one knew. Sandaime had his own theories that perhaps it was the Kyuubi who initiated the flight because Naruto's disappearance was too clean for a five-year-old to accomplish. But without proof, it was just another guess.

Back to the present, he had wanted to have a talk with Naruto. But throughout the entire month, there was the ever unanswered question, just what could he say? He couldn't just come out and ask him why he ran away. He couldn't openly tell him to meet with him either because it defied Chuunin Examination etiquette. In fact, the Chuunin Exam didn't allow him any contact at all with a genin from a rival village.

He would have to wait until the exam ended before he could get any answers.

---

"What took you so long?" Temari snapped as her 'teammate' appeared next to her.

"Sorry, sorry." Naruto replied easily. Temari usually got really nervous before a big mission and generally took her nervousness out by picking on him and Kankurou. And since this WAS the biggest mission up to date, they'd probably lose a layer of skin off the top of their heads by the time Gaara fought.

The next match would probably be between Haku and Rock Lee. If Shikamaru was anything like Naruto remembered, he'd probably surrender. Haku was the guy who fought the fat-ass in the first round and won by default because the other person was stupid enough knock himself out. So they couldn't really judge his ability yet. By now, Naruto was pretty certain that Haku was from the Mist Village. His clothing was a dead giveaway.

As for the other one, Rock Lee... all he could figure out was that this guy needed to lay off the sugar, or whatever it was that made him so hyper. And his sensei didn't help either. In fact, his sensei probably encouraged his exuberance, thus making it worse. Rock Lee didn't get a chance to fight during the preliminaries even though he had shown the greatest desire to fight.

He DID look ecstatic though. His disappointment over finding out that he would NOT be facing Dosu in the second round had worn off quickly.

'This one should be... interesting.'

---

'Kill them. Give me blood. I want some food and the last time I ate was horrible. I'm thirsty for blood, Gaara.'

Gaara winced and rubbed his head. Quickly, he turned and walked from the viewing area into another hallway. "I'll give you some fresh blood very soon, mother." He muttered as softly as he could. "Please give me a moment-"

'I WANT IT NOW YOU IMPUDENT BOY!' She shrilled in his head. 'Give me blood now!'

Hearing someone shriek in your head was completely different from hearing someone shrieking in your ear. It completely shook your mind, leaving you reeling and the resonation was much worse. There was no blocking the sound either.

"I promise I'll give you blood later." He begged silently. "And I promise it will taste very good. Just please..."

'Fine,' she snapped. "But I want it soon. And I especially want to taste the one of that Kyuubi boy.'

'Naruto?'

'Yes.' She hissed. 'I want to taste the blood of a demon. And I want it soon.'

The presence disappeared though the aftermath was still present. Mother hadn't always expressed an interest in Naruto before. He turned his heel and stalked back toward the viewing hall.

"Having another talk?"

Gaara turned his glare on the person speaking. He didn't hear him come in.

"You know Gaara; she's not your mother." Naruto said, following him back to where Kankurou was probably surrendering to Shino. "That's just a twisted representation from Shukaku of your mother."

"Shut up." He snarled, walking faster and silently thankful when Naruto stopped following him.

"Don't lose it before the signal, Gaara." Naruto finally said. But he only received a glare before the vessel of Shukaku disappearing from the blonde's eyes.

---

"You surrender?" The replacement examiner sounded dubious.

Kankurou nodded. "I surrender."

"Your loss," Genma said. "Then will Nara Shikamaru and-"

"I surrender too." Shikamaru called out hastily. Temari was already reaching for her fan and at that moment, looked particularly menacing.

Genma managed to squash the instinct of eye-rolling. Two forfeits, one from Sand and one from Leaf. Not much of a crowd pleaser if you asked him. But it didn't matter; after all, most people were here to watch the fight between Uchiha and Gaara.

---

With the two forfeits in a row, it only took a matter of seconds for Lee to realize, much to his happiness, that he would be fighting next.

'I'm ready for this. I'm ready to win this because I have the desire to prove that you don't need to be genius to defeat one.'

This was the chant Lee had been repeating through his head for the past month. He had gone on and tripled his original training. He was confident that he'd win against DOSU, but now he was facing Haku, who he knew nothing about besides the fact that he used senbon acupuncture needles in attack.

"Start the match." Once given the okay, Haku sprang back and the second he did, the entire fighting grounds began misting up.

'Nani...' Lee glanced around him, startled. How did he create mist without moisture? And he didn't see Haku perform any seals either.

What just happened?

---

"What's going on?" Ino yelled angrily along with the rest of the spectators. After all, mist meant that there wouldn't be a match to watch. She calmed down a few milliseconds later and thought up a question she turned on Sakura.

"How'd he do that?" Ino asked. "There's not a drop of water down there."

"That's his bloodline ability." Sakura answered. "Lee-san can't win this."

"You sound real confident in him."

"I am." Sakura replied. When they went to the Mist Village a little over six months ago, she didn't expect to lose a teammate and gain a new one. The four of them, Kakashi, Sasuke, her and Aozumi , had gone to the Mist Village after Aozumi had complained loudly in front of the Hokage that they weren't getting any 'important missions'.

When they had gone, they first encountered a demon named Zabuza. Kakashi barely managed to defeat him the first time around. The second time, they met his servant, Haku. They split up into three teams. Kakashi was paired off with Zabuza, Sasuke and Aozumi fought Haku and Sakura was left behind to protect their client. The battles were short and very bloody and the end only came after Aozumi's death.

As soon as Kakashi heard the body of his student fall to the floor, he unleashed everything he had at Zabuza, defeating him, but just barely. Both Kakashi and Sasuke were heavily injured and if Haku had wanted to, he probably could have killed them right then and there. But Haku had lost his will to fight after seeing his master dead. What good was a tool if it didn't have a master?

When they returned to Konoha, Haku went with them although whether he was a prisoner or otherwise wasn't decided. It was decided by the Hokage that Haku would join Team 7 even though the idea was ludicrous. It wasn't a very good match-up either and the team couldn't work efficiently because of the horrendous difference in ability. Haku was older in age and much better than Sasuke in everything from speed to stamina. And since Sakura couldn't even compete with Aozumi, who was worse that Sasuke... you get the idea.

And Sasuke also tried harder when Aozumi was here because at least he was given an opponent even if the opponent was weaker than him. When Haku replaced Aozumi, Sasuke had to settle for being the more 'worse off' half of the rivalry and even if he appeared to want to try and turn it around, Sakura thought that subconsciously, Sasuke had just given up.

Haku's ability was to manipulate water into ice, but with a little help from Kakashi-sensei, who surprisingly knew a large number of Mist jutsus, he eventually learned how to manipulate water in general. Now, for instance, he performed rapid condensation on the moisture in the air, turning it into mist. And with his added bloodline ability, he could do it without any seals.

"GO HAKU!" she shouted over the cries of the crowd. Six months ago, Haku had literally been a faceless enemy. Now, he was her friend and a kind, gentle friend at that. Often, it seemed like he was the glue holding them together and the one keeping Sasuke's ego in check.

---

There was a stinging pain in his left arm. Lee quickly closed his hand over the thin, sharp piece of metal. It was a needle, he confirmed. If Haku was planning on attacking him under the cover of his mist, there wasn't a whole lot Lee could do about it. But he could guess Haku's position from the direction the needles where coming from. All he had to do was wait for the next one.

But the curious thing was that the next few attacks came in pairs, one stabbing his right shoulder and one landing near his left toenail. Both came at exactly the same second and were in opposite directions. He had to be attacking from above then.

Lee immediately gathered strength in his legs, and jumped up, clearing the mist by a few feet. From his view, he could see that the entire fighting grounds were covered in heavy fog, and that there was no way he could see anything. Then it was a matter of seconds before gravity pulled him back into the dense prison of fog.

Since then, he was basically helpless; he did the only thing he could do. He closed his eyes and hoped his ears were good enough to hear the whoosh of flying needles and hoped that he would be able to move fast enough to avoid getting injured.

---

Gai strained his eyes, making an overall futile attempt to see through the haze created by Kakashi's student. He had heard about Haku from the more gossipy Jounins of Konoha. From what he had heard, Haku was from the Mist and had the mind set that shinobi were tools drilled into him at a very young age. He was also the last of a nameless clan with the bloodline ability of manipulating liquid and Kakashi had openly stated that Haku could probably best him in battle.

It was horrible that Lee's opponent had to be one with such a naturally advanced talent.

'Lee...'

---

Haku watched Lee wince as yet another needle pierced his body. At first, the bowl-hair boy pulled them out, but after a while, there were too many and where coming too quickly for him to have time to take them out. Now he was beginning to look something like a porcupine.

What's odd was that Lee wasn't using any techniques for counter. The only movements coming from him were jumps and flips to avoid the needles he could sense. Otherwise, he was basically a sitting duck. Yes, he did throw random punches here and there, but Haku would just jump out of the way with ease. Here was a prime example of someone who relied heavily on his gift of sight to fight.

For the past few minutes, Haku had been aiming at Lee's vital spots, but Lee actually moved quickly enough so the needles missed. There was no doubt that he was in pain, but not in as much pain he WOULD be in if the weapons had struck the desired target.

The original idea was to hit the areas that would cause the most pain, but Lee-san was doing too well even if he couldn't see. The Mist technique, no matter how advanced he was, also expended a large amount of chakra he couldn't afford to waste. He'd have to move quickly if he wanted to have a quick win. He transferred three needles to his right hand and aimed.

'Gomen, Lee-san.' He thought.

---

The arena began clearing up, much to the short-lived delight of the crowd. It was quite obvious that the match was over by then. Rock Lee was lying on the ground, face down and lifeless.

Genma rushed over without delay and examined him. Three needles had pierced his body. One was just under his collarbone, one was the mirror of the first, and one went straight through the center of his chest. The last one just barely missed hitting the area where the heart and lung met. Had it punctured just a millimeter higher...

The Examiner glanced at Haku, who was seated on the ground, panting lightly. Remarkable that he was able to aim so precisely even though he himself was enveloped in his own jutsu.

"Winner, Haku."

---

Sakura gave a sigh of relief as the winner was announced. 'He won!' she cheered silently in her head. "See?" she bragged to stupid Ino-pig. "I knew he'd win."

Ino snorted. "You didn't know what was going on either." She snapped back humorously. "And he's stronger than you too, Sakura-big-forehead." Suddenly, Ino realized that she had struck a major nerve as Sakura's head suddenly delved deep between her arms.

"Ohm gosh! Sakura, I'm so sorry!"

Gai ignored Ino's desperate, yet successful efforts to get Sakura's forgiveness. The match was horrible, not because Lee lost, but because it didn't give him a chance to show his true powers. The unfairness of it all, why couldn't Lee be born a genius?

---

"You see that?"

Kankurou and Naruto nodded. A small white puff going off on the roof of the opposite building above all the spectators wasn't that hard to miss. The ten-minute warning.

Temari began pacing again. "It's about to start." She muttered nervously. 'Only ten more minutes...'


	13. Start the Attack

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 13 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 13: Start the Attack**

The roar from the audience was getting louder and louder and the pit of worry in Naruto's stomach was growing deeper and deeper. Where the hell was Uchiha? Was it not enough that the Kages were putting everything on hold just for him? Did he have to be late to such a ridiculous degree? Bastard.

He WOULD start pacing had he not known that pacing would just make his two 'siblings' even more nervous. Gaara was already waiting on the field and had on his mask of apathy, but it was so very evident to the three Sand Nins that the control over his chronic schizophrenia was slipping rapidly. Uchiha Sasuke better get here soon. If he doesn't, then Gaara would transform before the attack. If Gaara tried to transform before the signal, all hell would break lose and they couldn't afford that.

There was a movement in the audience where the fake ANBU was. It'd be either Kabuto or Yashamaru. Baki was probably outside the village sending for the two-headed snake along with the other jounins. From what he knew, the snakes would always demand a sacrifice in return for services. All the more incentive to win, for if they failed, the snakes would more than likely devour those it was allied with.

He took a deep breath, trying to remember the order of events that were to take place. First, Gaara would have to transform while Naruto summoned the Kyuubi to guard him in case someone managed to break the shell. After Shukaku transformed, the only thing left to do was to wreak utter havoc on the village. Kazekage-sama and Orochimaru would take care of the Hokage.

The Hokage. Crap. There's that thing called guilt again.

Damn Uchiha.

---

Sasuke DID eventually arrive- minutes after when his match should've started. Had he been anyone else, he would've been disqualified long before he and his silver haired jounin sensei appeared in a storm of wind and leaves. But sadly, he wasn't anyone else. He was Uchiha Sasuke, the boy Kazekage-sama has been extremely partial toward in the last half month or so. His sudden interest in him was questionable, but then again, Naruto was not one to question orders. Personally, he could not understand why Uchiha was so special. From what Gaara had told him, Uchiha was grossly overrated.

"Kankurou could probably take him." Gaara had said a few weeks ago after getting berated by Baki for his little 'scouting mission'. "I don't see what all the fuss is about." Unless Uchiha had magically cleaned up his act, he'd probably die before the attack even began.

"Begin" the proctor said, jumping back to provide adequate space for the long anticipated clash that was to happen. The words were scarcely out of Genma's lips when Gaara suddenly lurched forward, head clutched tightly between his hands.

"Please." he strained out, ignoring the dumbfounded expression on Sasuke's face, "I fed you some nasty blood earlier, I'm sorry. But this time, it will be delicious."

---

"Oh no"

"Conversation has begun."

Naruto glanced down worriedly at his friend. If Gaara lost control before the outside could start the attack, all hell would break loose. He was about to shout something to calm Gaara down when the other boy's face unexpectedly resumed its unbreakable mask of nothingness.

"Let's go."

---

The fight began as any other fight would. There was the customary first round of shurikens thrown by the challenger that was, of course, easily intercepted by Gaara's shield of sand, which abruptly turned into a clone of its user. For the next few moments, Sasuke would do battle with the sand clone instead of his real opponent.

Naruto had to admit that Sasuke improved vastly over the span of one month, but even with that improvement, he did not have the ability in him to defeat Gaara. He was fast, but not fast enough. He was strong, but could not possibly penetrate the shield.

At the moment, Uchiha disappeared. In the same second, Gaara was unceremoniously knocked off his feet and into the ground.

"What the hell?"

Suddenly, the roles were reversed and Gaara became the rag doll in the hands of a powerful opponent. Sasuke's attack was so fast the shield only prevented the heaviest hits from connecting. The only flaw noticeable was that the speed was taking an unusual amount of energy to produce. Still, if this attack kept up, then there could be a problem. How could Sasuke get so strong in such a short time? Maybe Gaara had him pegged wrong.

---

Gaara stood up from the bed of sand. He clasped his hands together and the sand began packing into a sphere with him inside.

"No! Not that jutsu!" Temari gasped. "Gaara!"

"Gaara! Stop it!" Naruto yelled. "Don't forget...!"

Shino, who was still in the stands with the Sand trio, could not understand why they were throwing such a fit. But their shouts actually worked and the sand loosened away and fell to the floor. Of course, Gaara shot them the deadliest death glare Shino had ever seen, but he listened.

He really did not appreciate being told what to do, but the miniscule respect he had for his brothers and sister quelled his blood thirst. For now.

'It's time,' he thought, 'to try out another jutsu.'

Gaara slammed his hands into the ground and focused to the ground where Sasuke was. 'Morph.'

The dirt patch beneath Sasuke suddenly turned into a substance similar to quicksand and held him down just as a hand of sand ascended from the ground and made its way up to his neck and began to steadily choke the life from him.

"Die" spat Gaara.

---

Naruto managed a shaky sigh of relief. This probably wasn't any better for Sasuke, but at least the plan wasn't being disrupted any further. Uchiha would probably die but that wasn't a concern compared to the greater business that was to take place.

Suddenly, the sand around Sasuke's neck loosened while the quicksand held steadfast. "What?"

He shot a glance at Gaara, who was glaring up in the Kage's balcony. 'Oh yea.' he thought. 'Kazekage has uses for Uchiha.' And Gaara probably wouldn't go as far as kill Sasuke under his father's eye. Sasuke was breathing heavily and clutching his neck, but was, for the most part, alright.

Too bad.

---

There were feathers in the air, Sakura observed. Dozens and dozens of feathers. Was this an illusion or was it just her imagination-

"KAI!"

The pair of voices from her teachers alerted her enough so she managed a "KAI!" before her mind became too mangled.

Up in the towers, Sandaime-sama sensed something was amiss. He turned slowly and gave the Kazekage a look. Kazekage turned his head slowly too. The two Wind Country attendants sprang into the air and detached a smoke bomb just as a group of Leaf ANBU dashed toward the Towers.

The operation had begun

---

Immediately, the sand began wrapping Gaara in a tightly packed sphere as before. Sasuke, who was standing parallel to the ground on the arena wall, was doing something with his hands, no doubt a jutsu

Naruto jumped on the railing. 'Oi! Kitsune!'

'Got ye'

He jumped down toward the ground headfirst, hoping, praying for success. The Kyuubi would regulate the chakra for him and he would do the seals. Somewhere deep inside him, a gate opened and chakra not his own poured out from his hands.

'Please work.'

All was going well, but then the chakra began to burn. 'That's too much!' he yelled at the Kyuubi. 'I won't be able to control it.'

'Spread yer arms as far as ye can.'

He slammed his hands, palms down, into the ground as instructed, bounced off the force, and landed on his feet a few feet away. The pillars of light extended from the ground and formed the figures of two vague four-legged creatures. Two?

'What the $#&?'

'Shut up kid.' Kyuubi snapped. 'It's the best combination. Ye have enough power to control them both.'

'I do?' Naruto thought dubiously as the two Kyuubi forms strengthened and finally grew to around 6 feet of height each. 'They look like they're going to eat me alive.'

'Look them in the eye and don't back down.' said it, 'They know fear when they see it and they'll refuse to serve one who has fear.'

It was surprisingly difficult. It might not seem an all worthy task, but when you're facing two pairs of pits that have no mercy, not looking away is quite trying.

Suddenly, the two stopped glaring and began running circles around him. 'What're they doing now?'

'They're acknowledging ye for the time being. Hurry up and start doing your & job.'

---

The two sand attendants dashed headfirst toward the team of ANBU only to be sliced in half across the waist.

"Li and Ro team," shouted the captain as the Kazekage jumped on top of the tower with a kunai aimed at the Hokage's neck, "Protect the ministers."

If only they had looked back, they would have seen the each half of the two attendants come to life and jump on top the ceiling with the kages.

"Ninpou! Quad Purple Flame Wall!"

A dark purple flamed wall was obstructed on the ceiling of the tower reaching up and scraping the sky. Each four of the attendants then created a barrier within the wall, effectively trapping the kages within the jutsu with no possible chance of escape or rescue.

---

The Chidori crackled angrily under Sasuke's hand. In the previous fight, maintaining that speed took a lot of energy and Kakashi had estimated that Sasuke could only use the Chidori twice a day.

Not that it mattered. He'd rip that sand shield off in one hit.

He began a mad dash toward the sand ball in the middle of the field.

---

Naruto smirked. This is when the jobs kicked in. "Protect Gaara" He shouted at the two summons as Sasuke ran toward them at full speed. The Sharingan eyes widened at the sight of twin Kyuubis and the Chidori was slammed into the side of one of them. It dissolved on impact and Sasuke had to jump back as quick as possible to avoid decapitation.

Then, the heel of someone's hand slammed into his face and knocked him off his feet. Sasuke winced and blinked. Naruto was standing between him and Gaara, trench coat abandoned.

"Your opponent is me, Uchiha-kun." said Naruto with enough edge to send chills down his spine. "Let's go."

---

"Sasuke-kun!"

Sakura jumped down from the stands only to barely avoid being knocked over the head by Temari's fan. Then she had tip over backward to escape the base of the fan. This girl who was attacking her was nothing like the carefree person who crushed TenTen effortlessly. She had eyes to kill.

There was a rattling behind her and Karasu came out of nowhere and shot several knives at Sakura. They would've skewered her if Kakashi had not knocked them away.

"Sakura," Kakashi said, "You-"

He stopped in mid-sentence to deflect a round of shurikens thrown by Kankurou. "Go to the Academy and inform the teachers." he said. "They'll know what to do and follow their instructions to protect the village."

Sakura nodded and rushed to obey her sensei.

"Can't let you do that." Temari yelled, expanding her fan and following her outside.

Secretly, Temari was looking for an excuse to leave. She didn't want to be anywhere near Gaara when he transformed.


	14. The Beginning of the End

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 14 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 14: The Beginning of the End**

A leaf was landed lightly on the ground seconds before it was unceremoniously trampled by the team of passing ANBU. The leader of the bunch caught and fell gracefully from one branch to the next, the rest following in his steps. Seconds later, two scouts caught up with them.

"Status?"

"Hokage-sama is within Orochimaru's flame wall jutsu." reported one. "And a fight is commencing in the stadium as we speak."

"The West Gate is in need of assistance." said the second. "The three-headed snake is proving to be much more difficult than the guards can handle."

The Captain drew in a quick breath. The situation was certainly more dire than previously expected. Looked like the senior chuunins would have to handle evacuation by themselves.

"Head for the West Gate."

"Sir!"

---

Fights continued to erupt from all sides of the arena. The most heavily concentrated one was, of course, at the center. An innocent passerby would have keeled over in shock at seeing the strange sight of people fighting all around a great dome of sand, some trying to get near it, and others doing their best to preventing the possibility of the former.

Kakashi does not show mercy to enemies on the battlefield. If the opponent had been a brat genin fresh out of the academy, he would've dealt with him like he had with any other full-grown shinobi. And since Kankurou was a far cry from a brat genin fresh out of the academy, he would've been in big trouble if Baki had not come to his aid.

"Remember your mission." His instructor snapped swiftly.

Oh yes, he was supposed to help defend the 'cocoon'. But Naruto was doing a fine job of that, and he had a feeling that if he got too near the twin Kyuubi, they'd mistake him as the enemy and help rid him of much needed body parts.

"Kankurou!" yelled Naruto, "go help Temari. I've got things covered around here."

He let out a breath. Leave it to Naruto to find him an honorable excuse to leave.

---

Sasuke glared at Naruto. He's been glaring much more than usual lately and for some reason, it was always centered on him.

He remembered Kakashi's words. How Naruto was 'originally of the Leaf'. How he had left in a miraculous flight, evading a team that consisted of Konoha's best, both Kakashi AND Itachi. When he was young, he didn't believe it, but now that he's fighting a person who had contributed to Itachi's darkness... he believed.

Naruto was fast. His sharingan kept up pretty well, but there was the ever-present nagging feeling that this was no where near Naruto's true speed. That time when Naruto fought Hyuuga Hinata? Not even close.

A fist came close enough to graze the side of his face, knocking Sasuke off balance and allowing Naruto a swift kick to Sasuke's opposing, unprotected side.

'He left Konoha.' he thought, rage bubbling to the surface rapidly as he picked himself up. 'Just like...'

All fights were promptly brought to a halt as the ground suddenly began to rumble

---

Sakura was doing her best to try and lose Temari, but with little success. The Sand girl was just too fast. She couldn't reveal the location of the academy, but she had to deliver her message.

Suddenly, a wave was emitted from the stadium so powerful it knocked both girls off their feet. Temari, obviously distracted by the sight, did not notice Sakura taking this opportunity to sneak off.

'If that didn't warn the Chuunin sensei,' thought Sakura frantically, 'I don't know what will.'

---

Somehow, when Kankurou was told to leave, his luck led him straight to the bug-based shinobi who was probably smarting over the fact that he didn't get to fight in front of hundreds and hundreds of spectators.

"I thought we could have a match now." said Aburame Shino quietly.

Kankurou threw a look back at the cocoon- it was beginning to shake. He really didn't want to be anywhere near It when it exploded, so he did the only thing he could and ran past Shino, who pursued closely.

'I'll take you on, bug-boy.' Kankurou thought, 'But only after I get the hell away from that thing.'

---

In all his years as a shinobi, Morino Ibiki never beheld what he was seeing now. The great dome of sand visible a mile away was trembling and growing at an alarming rate.

"Get reinforcements down to the stadium," he yelled, spit flying from his mouth. "Something's happen-"

A wave, more violent than any ever felt before in the peaceful village erupted from the dome and the walls of the dome began cracking, marking the beginning of the end for the Fire Country's shinobi village, Konoha.

---

'Are you awake, Gaara?'

'Yes.'

'Go to sleep. Now.'

'Yes... mother.'

---

There was a split second of peace- only a second. The entire world was still and no one moved. The children were silenced and the birds lost their voices. Then, like the calm before a storm, it shattered, throwing the world into chaos.

Shukaku- not Gaara- was the one who awakened, much to the Sand's dismay. There was at least a slight change that Gaara would listen to them. There was no earthly way possible to control Shukaku.

"YAHOOOO!" bellowed the demon, voice echoing all over Konoha. "I'm FREE!"

---

Sasuke vaguely registered the growing horror on Naruto's face that mirrored his own. Fight completely forgotten, Naruto threw a look of confusion toward his instructor. 'Shukaku was only meant to come to life if something Gaara couldn't handle happened.'

The twin Kyuubi circled around Shukaku's body and came to a stop behind Naruto, as if grudgingly awaiting orders. "Go to Temari." he said to them, never taking his eyes off the true demon. "Assist her."

They ran off just in time to avoid being trampled by the now-rampaging demon. "WHO WANNA PIECE OF THIS!" yelled the demon, pounding at his chest, ignorant of the presence of the many humans who had to scramble out of the way quickly to avoid being trampled. Shukaku tore into the village, splitting in the arena walls in the process. "WHO WANTS TO DIE!"

Naruto, who retreated up the side of the walls still intact, knelt next to Baki. Shukaku was definitely doing more damage than the twin-headed snakes, that's for sure. He couldn't help but feel concern for Temari, who ran out a while ago and was now most likely in Shukaku's warpath, Kankurou too. "What do we do now?" he asked quietly.

"We can't do anything else." Baki replied curtly, lunging forward and deflecting a kunai aimed toward Naruto. "Keep your guard up and stay alive- that's your goal now."

"Yes sir."

---

Somewhere in the forest, Kankurou and Temari were locked in combat with Aburame Shino. After losing sight of Sakura, she happened to catch sight of Kankurou leading Shino into the forest and she had followed.

Kankurou gave her the signal and they both dove into the air, leaving a confused bug boy behind to inhale the poison gas. "We should probably head back." Temari finally said moments after the bomb was deployed. "They're waiting..."

He hesitated for a split second, and then nodded in agreement. The two dashed back toward the heart of the battle, never noticing a cloud of black bugs regrouping and recreating the form of their master, who pursued the pair, taking care not to be noticed. .

---

Staying alive was much easier than avoiding death, decided Naruto. Luckily for him, the majority of the Leaf jounins- who, he had to admit, no matter how grudgingly, were pretty damn strong- were occupied with Shukaku. Sadly, most the Leaf jounin like Hatake Kakashi and Shiranui Genma who were already at the stadium in the first place remained within the stadium, thus changing the difficulty of avoiding death by very little.

Suddenly, his back came in contact with another person's. He would've stabbed the person had she not said his name in a hurry. Kurosaki. "Naruto-san, go see the battle between the Kages. Now. I'll take care of things here."

He glanced at her, confused. Was she seriously asking him to abandon a mission at its primary stage to go watch another battle? Why-

"Go!" the urgency in her voice was evident. "I said I'll handle things and I will. Please go now."

And he went, not having a clue why she told him to go or why he was listening to her and going in the first place.

---

Naruto worshipped the ground Kazekage-sama walked on. He was the one who granted sanctuary when Naruto was on the run, He was the one who provided tutelage for Naruto to become a shinobi, and He was the one who gave Naruto a home and raised him, almost as his own. Kurosaki knew all that. That was why she had to send him to see the Kage battle.

The one fighting Sandaime Hokage was Orochimaru; Kazekage-sama was nowhere in sight. It didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. There was no way Kazekage-sama would allow such a grand-scale attack to be unmonitored, and Kazekage-sama was not the type to change the plan at the last minute. If Orochimaru had been masquerading as the Kazekage the whole time... there was even that slight chance that Kazekage-sama was already dead.

Kurosaki had decided, mostly on impulse, that if Orochimaru was setting up the Sand, she wouldn't let it slide by without at least trying something.

'Please do something, Naruto-san.'

---

As she had hoped, it didn't take Naruto a long time to realize that they'd been deceived.

'Orochimaru.. you bastard.' he thought savagely. 'You're-'

An ear-splitting shriek broke into his thoughts and nearly shattered his eardrums. Shukaku was somewhere at the southern end of Konoha, and there was a giant toad leading him away from the village and into the forest. And atop the giant toad was a person, an old man- the same old man who commented on his jutsu in the forest.

It was that second when Naruto realized that the Sand was doomed to defeat either way.

---

What was he going to do? What could he do?

Days from now, months from now, YEARS from now, Naruto would reflect upon this decision as The most imbecilic and blockheaded one he's ever made. But at the time, it seemed like a good idea.

He remembered running faster than ever before and landing on Shukaku. The sand didn't register him as an enemy so it didn't make a grab to suffocate, choke, or any of the other things it usually tried on invaders. When he was within range, after yelling out "Gaara, wake up!" for the umpteenth time with no success, he went and punched Gaara in the face, waking him up, destroying Shukaku's spell, and dispersing the demon's body.

He saw Orochimaru being carried out by the Sound Four. He saw the frog disappear. He saw Gaara hit the ground. Then darkness overtook him as his body came into contact with the ground as well, having fallen from fifty feet above.

The invasion was over. The Sand had lost.


	15. Aftermath and Consequences

**Fandom:** Naruto  
**Title:** Never Ever  
**Part:** 15 of 15  
**Genre:** General/Action/Adventure  
**Rating:** PG  
**Warning:** AU  
**Spoilers:** Manga up to Chuunin Exams  
**Summary:** What if Naruto had sided with the Sand in the Konoha invasion?

**Chapter 15: Aftermath and Consequences**

An inviolable cloud of gloom hung over the village of Sunagakure. The only chance of restoring the shinobi village to its former glory just slipped through their grasp forever.

When Naruto awoke, it was dead silence. Even the forever restless sand was still, as if nature was mourning in its own way. Slowly, he got out of bed and headed downstairs. Temari and Kankurou were sitting rigidly at the kitchen table. Gaara was no where in sight. Temari gave Naruto a forced smile as he took the seat next to Kankurou. "What's going on?" he asked.

"They're having peace talks at the central office right now." said Kankurou flatly, dual meaning understood. The so called 'peace talks' were a load of bullshit. The Sand village was over, finished. It would be destroyed, its ninja army relieved of duty, and they wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it. The Leaf were just here to collect their dues.

"Yashamaru left around ten this morning." Kankurou said, fiddling around with Karasu. "He said he'd be back around noon. Guess not." The clock now read two.

"Where's Gaara?"

The two exchanged an uneasy look. "He's been missing since the day after we brought him back." said Temari. "I think he's mad that you... punched him in the face."

Silence.

"At least it was you who knocked him out." said Kankurou. "If it was anyone else... they'd be dead by now."

More silence.

"What happened after I.. Gaara.. afterward?"

"Orochimaru died even before Gaara went down." Then, catching herself, Temari hesitatingly added "Orochimaru killed otou-san."

'Kurosaki was right.' Aloud, he asked, "What happened?"

"Otou-san was murdered before the Finals ever began." Before the order to summon a Kyuubi came. "Orochimaru came in his stead and he was the one who fought the Hokage. After Gaara transformed, Sandaime did something that drained Orochimaru's soul." He'd seen the Hokage holding Orochimaru in place, but didn't recall a jutsu being performed at the time. "Shukaku disappeared just when Kankurou and I came back. He used the bomb in Karasu and then we all had to flee- Naruto?"

The blonde had risen to his feet and was headed toward the door. "I have to find Gaara." he said quietly.

"But they're coming back soon."

"Keep him here until I come back, alright?" And he was gone.

---

It took him a little over half an hour to find Gaara. Naruto looked all over town until it finally struck him that Gaara just might be at the rooftops he spent every sleepless night at. His hunch was right- Gaara was sitting on the Central Office Tower rooftop, like he'd been waiting this whole time.

Conversation was, ironically, begun by Gaara. Once Naruto was within hearing range, he said quietly, "The Leaf is demanding your return."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

"Sandaime Hokage's last words concerned you." said Gaara. "He wanted you to go back to Konoha."

"How do you know?"

Gaara nodded at the trail of sand that lead down the stairway door. "I heard them."

Naruto's face fell. "How's it going down there?"

"Baki and Yashamaru are fighting a losing battle." Then there was that silence, which, no matter what the situation, was always comfortable. "What will you do if you're forced to return?" For once, Gaara was looking straight at him and not straight past him. "What if you're not allowed to come back?"

He hadn't thought of that. In fact, right now, he had no idea what the HELL he was thinking when he did what he did. He'd lost hope, the Leaf was going to win, and he wanted leniency. So that's what it was? Cowardice?

Gaara's voice broke into his thoughts. "It'll be right," he said flatly. "Whatever happens, it'll work itself out." Subtleness was never a key trait when it came to Gaara, but at the moment, flat out remarks provided reassurance, even if only temporary. It was Gaara's own way of showing that he was forgiven.

"Thank you."

---

The second the two walked in that evening, Temari knew that they knew. Baki and Yashamaru had put up a good fight, but in the end, their Prime Minister's refusal to assist them handed Naruto back to his homeland like a prize at a flea market.

She had not been crying. There's been something in her eyes and nose since she heard the news, but she was not crying before they stepped in through that door. Afterwards, though, there was no denying that she was definitely bawling her heart out. She immediately ran up and threw her arms around her two otoutou and wailed.

Naruto was also getting misty-eyed and Gaara- Gaara might or might not have been embarrassed of the emotional display at that moment, it was hard to tell, but he allowed himself to be of comfort to his older sister.

"Don't cry, Temari-san." Naruto said softly. "It's not forever. They're not kicking me out of the village or anything, it'll be fine."

"I know," she said, pulling back. "I know, but seeing you occasionally isn't the same as seeing you everyday." Then, as if suddenly realizing the scene she made, Temari promptly excused herself.

---

Yashamaru was in the kitchen throughout the first few minutes of Naruto's return. Despite his apparent apathy, Yashamaru was really going to miss that boy. No matter how incredibly stupid it sounded, the presence of Naruto alone calmed the demons of his mind. A decade ago, when he was ordered to murder Gaara, he refused it. Seeing Gaara happy, even if he was the murderer or his twin, made his heart forego a change.

"Yashamaru?" It was Naruto, offering a weak smile. "Ramen?"

---

That night, they all slept together in the living room, something they haven't done since they were eight years old, when Kazekage-sama abolished the childish antics of his children. They talked long into the night, about everything from food to weapons. The subject of his departure was not touched. There was laughter, there were tears, and Naruto and Gaara stayed up long past the others, talking. When morning arose, Naruto was packed and Gaara was gone.

"You think he'd be here." Temari fumed as she fussed with Naruto's jacket.

"It's okay, Temari-nee." Naruto replied serenely. "It's all right."

Everything will be all right.

---

"You missed it." Kankurou said as he heard the familiar rush of sand. "He's gone."

"I know," said Gaara tonelessly. The three siblings stared after the dust emitted by the carriage taking away their brother had long since disappeared. Finally, Gaara rose. "We should go. It's raining."

Temari glanced at her brother and started. There was a trail of water crawling down Gaara's face that was joined by another, another, and another. It was strongly suspected that Gaara wasn't even aware that he was crying.

"Yes." She said softly, "let's go."

---

There was once a little boy who changed the world. I should know, he changed mine.

O . W . A . R . I

* * *

This version was last edited on October 23, 2005.

Never Ever is now COMPLETE. This is the last chapter, a sequel may be pending, but it's unlikely to be released before 2006. I repeat what I said before: this story was not perfect, there were plot holes and unanswered questions, but it will all be covered in the sequel if there is one. If there isn't... then, well, use the imagination.

This fanfiction was my very first piece and 9630 hits and 400 reviews later, I must say: Thank you, thank you, thank you very much! My fanfiction experience has been wonderful thanks to reviewers and readers such as yourself. Thank you very much.


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